49ers like what they’ve got in fullback Kyle Juszczyk

SANTA CLARA - Bill Walsh had Tom Rathman. George Seifert had William Floyd. Steve Mariucci had Fred Beasley. Jim Harbaugh had Bruce Miller. And now Kyle Shanahan has Kyle Juszczyk.

Fullback is a dying position in the NFL, but not on the 49ers. The franchise always has valued the fullback.

Except for last season. The 49ers didn't have a fullback under head coach Chip Kelly. He had no use for fullbacks. After 14 losses, the 49ers had no use for Kelly. He's history, and now the fullback is making a comeback in Santa Clara.

One of the first things the 49ers did this offseason after hiring Kyle Shanahan was sign Kyle Juszczyk (pronounced use-check).

The 49ers made Juszczyk - a free agent after four years with the Baltimore Ravens - the highest-paid fullback in the NFL. That's how much Shanahan values the position. It's vital to his offensive scheme.

“When you have a fullback in the game, you can dictate a little bit what you want to do as an offense,” Shanahan explained at a recent press conference. “If you get in there and you don't have a fullback, especially in some situational football like the red zone or short yardage, there are certain personnel packages, certain fronts, certain schemes that defenses can play where you cannot run the ball unless you're just going to ask the guy to run over two unblocked people.

“When you have a fullback in there, there are situations where you can call a run play and run it no matter what. I've always believed that having that threat puts defenses in a little bit of a bind, and you can do play actions off of it and things like that, which always helps.”

Juszczyk missed the 49ers' past two games with a back injury and Shanahan's offense suffered without him. But he will return today against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I like playing fullback because it's such a versatile position,” Juszczyk said on Thursday in the 49ers locker room. “Being a fullback entails lead blocking, carrying the ball, running routes, being heavily involved in special teams. Versatility has always been one of my strong suits. I catch passes. I run the ball. I score touchdowns.

“I think I bring a good combination of athleticism and power. A fullback obviously has to have some power to lead block on some pretty big guys. But I think one of my strengths is being able to block in space, which isn't always typical of traditional fullbacks.”

Fullbacks usually block between the tackles - they run straight through a hole and hit someone. But Shanahan prioritizes running outside the tackles. So, Juszczyk has to sprint toward the sideline before he turns up field and finds someone to hit. That's what he means by “blocking in space.” He has to block safeties and cornerbacks as well as linebackers and defensive ends.

Juszczyk is relatively new to playing fullback. He didn't become one until 2013. That's when Baltimore drafted him in the fourth round.

“I wasn't tall enough to be a tight end,” Juszczyk said. “That's the short story. I played tight end in college primarily. I was basically a slot receiver, but I was labeled a tight end.

“Making the transition to the NFL, I knew at 6-1 - I'll say I'm 6-2 - I knew it would be a stretch to be a tight end. You don't see too many tight ends who aren't at least 6-3. So, fullback was what I was left with.”

Fullback is a tough-guy position. Does Juszczyk consider himself a tough guy?

The question made Juszczyk laugh. “I don't consider myself to be hard. I feel like I'm an easy person to get along with. But when it comes to on the field playing football, definitely I would consider myself a tough guy.

“I don't know if it's a different persona. In real life, you don't have to block people. You can treat on the field and off the field as two different things.”

Juszczyk started playing football when he was 12. “I wanted to play before that,” he said. “Mom wouldn't let me until I was a little bit older, so I played soccer up until then. Both of my older brothers were football players. They got me into it.

“In my youth I was a quarterback. All through peewees, middle school, high school, I was a quarterback, but I also played inside linebacker. It was an interesting combination.”

Smart and tough.

Off the field, Juszczyk is insightful, articulate, warm, generous and down to earth. He seems like an intellectual. He went to Harvard and majored in economics.

How does a big, bruising fullback come from Harvard?

“Harvard gets a bad rap from the football community,” Juszczyk said with a chuckle. “But I'm telling you, Harvard is full of tough guys. Just because you're smart doesn't mean you can't be tough.”

A fullback.