Christian McCaffrey is officially off the Carolina Panthers and headed to the San Francisco 49ers. The last few weeks have seen McCaffrey pop up in trade talks for the Panthers, but nobody was quite sure what to make out of the situation. How much would a team give up? Is he healthy enough for another team to give up a lot for him? Would Carolian dive straight into a rebuild? Well, it certainly does appear that we have our answer.
McCaffrey was swapped to San Francisco for a wild amount of draft capital. San Francisco gave up a second, third and a fourth-round draft pick in the upcoming 2023 draft. They also gave up a fifth in 2024. The most surprising part about it was that it didn’t need a first-round draft pick. Carolina now has about every pick they could want in the upcoming draft to restock while the 49ers get to contend straight away with a new weapon.
The weird part about the 49er’s offense is now going to be the mismatching. McCaffrey is a running back that can line up at wide receiver if need be. Meanwhile, Deebo Samuel is a wide receiver that can line up at the running back position. These two guys along with George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk make this offense unbelievably talented. McCaffrey will likely stay healthier as well with more backfield help this time. Guys like Elijah Mitchell and Jeff Wilson will provide meaningful snaps for them when McCaffrey needs a break. That is, when Mitchell returns to the field following his own injury.
McCaffrey Excited For New Offense
Now, it’d be wrong to assume that this isn’t a good fit for both sides. San Franciso has seen a plethora of running backs step into the Kyle Shanahan system and turn out great. Just look at guys like Wilson, Mitchell, Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida and many more. You can even include players like Tevin Coleman, Tyrion Davis-Price and Trey Sermon who weren’t studs but have seen some form of success. McCaffrey will fit perfectly into their packages and make life for Samuel ten times easier.
When reporters asked McCaffrey about how he felt to be paired with Shanahan, he had a straight forward answer. Saying, “I don’t know if there’s anyone better at putting guys in positions to have success and tailor into what they’re good at. For me, I’ve watched him do some unbelievable things with some great running backs. I’m just excited to learn from them and hear how coach Shanahan coaches not just the running back position, but every single position on the field. It’s something you kind of hear legends about.”
We likely won’t get to see McCaffrey this upcoming week as he learns the offense and tries to get himself settled into his new threads. However, it is looking increasingly likely that he will be ready for Week 8. Whenever that time may be for McCaffrey, the 49ers are going to look a whole lot better down the stretch of the season. As for opposing defenses, look out.