Top 100 NFL Running Backs - #42: Christian McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey

Teams

Carolina Panthers (2017-2022)

San Francisco 49ers (2022-present)

Playoffs

Appearances - 3 (2017,2022,2023)

Conf Champ Games - 2 (2022,2023)

Super Bowls - 1 (2023)

Championships - 0

Awards and Honors

All-Pro First Team - 2 (2019,2023)

All-Pro Second Team - 1 (2018)

Pro Bowl - 3 (2019,2022,2023)

Offensive Player of the Year - 1 (2023)

All-time Ranks

Yards per Rush - #18

Rushing Yards per Game - #52

Total Touchdowns - #69

Rushing Touchdowns - #76

Yards per Touch - #87

Rushing Yards - #90

League Leads

Rushing Yards (#1-2023, #3-2019, #6-2018, #8-2022)

Rushing Touchdowns (#3-2019, #4-2023)

Yards per Rush (#2-2023, #9-2018, #10-2019)

Rushing Yards per Game (#2-2023, #4-2019)

Receptions (#2-2019, #8-2018)

Total Touchdowns (#1-2019,2023, #4-2022, #9-2018)

Scrimmage Yards (#1-2019,2023, #3-2018,2022)

As a sophomore at Stanford, Christian McCaffrey rushed for 2019 yards, and had another 645 through the air, and came in #2 in voting for the Heisman Trophy behind Derrick Henry. He had another 1603 rushing yards as a junior, then left school early to enter the 2017 NFL Draft, where he was selected 8th overall by the Carolina Panthers.

As a rookie, he rushed for 435 yards, and added another 651 on receptions, which gave him over 1000 scrimmage yards in his rookie season. The Panthers made the playoffs that season, and McCaffrey had 117 scrimmage yards in their Wild Card loss.

He started to show signs of greatness in his second season. He rushed for 1098 yards, and had 867 yards receiving, setting a record along of way of 107 receptions, the most ever by a running back in a season. His totals for rushing yards and scrimmage yards were both #3 in the league for the season.

He got even better in 2019. He had 1387 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, and also had 1005 receiving yards, making him the third player ever to reach 1000 yards in each category in the same season, joining Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk. His 2392 scrimmage yards led the league, and is still the 3rd-highest total in history, behind only Chris Johnson and Marshall Faulk. He also led the league with 19 total touchdowns, cementing him as a superstar in his third season.

The 2020 season was a huge letdown after such a huge season. He signed the largest contract ever for a running back before the season, but was limited to only 3 games by ankle and shoulder injuries. Injuries followed him into 2021, where he played only 7 games due to hamstring and ankle injuries.

He was finally fully healthy in 2022, and was playing well early on for Carolina when he was traded away after 6 games to the San Francisco 49ers for 4 draft picks. He went on to finish the season with 1139 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground, and 1880 total scrimmage yards, all without missing a game, which was amazing after missing 22 games over the previous 2 seasons.

In 2023, he finally established himself as the best running back in the league. He led the league with 1459 rushing yards, scoring 14 touchdowns on the ground, and led the league in scrimmage yards for the second time, reaching 2023, the second time he had surpassed 2000 yards. He also led the league with 21 total touchdowns and had a career high of 5.4 yards per carry on the season, all of which led to his winning the Offensive Player of the Year award.

McCaffrey was great in the playoffs as well. He had 128 yards and 2 touchdowns in their first playoff game, and scored the winning touchdown, then had 132 yards and 2 touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl. He had 80 yards rushing and 80 receiving in the Super Bowl, becoming the first player ever to surpass 75 in each in the Super Bowl, but the 49ers fell 25-22 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

McCaffrey is young, only turning 28 years old last month, and he is currently the best running back in the NFL. If he is able to remain healthy, as he has done the past 2 years, there is no reason to believe that he won't be one of the 10 greatest of all time by the end of his career. In each of his last 4 healthy seasons, he has finished in the top 3 in scrimmage yards, and he is #18 on the all-time list in yards per carry, and though he may have a lot of time left, he's already proven himself to be one of the greatest of all time.

Fantasy Football Rankings - Week 16

	Quarterbacks
1	Lamar Jackson	BAL
2	Jameis Winston	TB
3	Drew Brees	NO
4	Ryan Tannehill	TEN
5	Russell Wilson	SEA
6	Carson Wentz	PHI
7	Dak Prescott	DAL
8	Philip Rivers	LAC
9	Drew Lock	DEN
10	Jimmy Garoppolo	SF
11	Matt Ryan	ATL
12	DeShaun Watson	HOU
13	Patrick Mahomes II	KC
14	Jared Goff	LAR
15	Ryan Fitzpatrick	MIA
16	Andy Dalton	CIN
17	Sam Darnold	NYJ
18	Kirk Cousins	MIN
19	Josh Allen	BUF
20	Mitchell Trubisky	CHI

	Running Backs		Flex
1	Christian McCaffrey	CAR	1
2	Joe Mixon	CIN	2
3	Ezekiel Elliott	DAL	4
4	Saquon Barkley	NYG	5
5	Mark Ingram II	BAL	6
6	Chris Carson	SEA	10
7	Derrick Henry	TEN	11
8	Austin Ekeler	LAC	13
9	Kenyan Drake	AZ	14
10	Devonta Freeman	ATL	15
11	Raheem Mostert	SF	16
12	Aaron Jones	GB	18
13	Nick Chubb	CLE	19
14	Marlon Mack	IND	21
15	Alvin Kamara	NO	22
16	Leonard Fournette	JAX	25
17	Miles Sanders	PHI	26
18	Melvin Gordon	LAC	28
19	Mike Boone	MIN	36
20	Todd Gurley II	LAR	40
21	Devin Singletary	BUF	49
22	Dalvin Cook	MIN	50
23	Adrian Peterson	WAS	52
24	Jonathan Williams	IND	56
25	Carlos Hyde	HOU	57
26	Le'Veon Bell	NYJ	59
27	Phillip Lindsay	DEN	60
28	Patrick Laird	MIA	69
29	Peyton Barber	TB	70
30	Kareem Hunt	CLE	71
31	James White	NE	74
32	Ronald Jones II	TB
33	James Conner	PIT
34	David Montgomery	CHI
35	DeAndre Washington	OAK
36	Brian Hill	ATL
37	Gus Edwards	BAL
38	Latavius Murray	NO
39	Kerryon Johnson	DET
40	Sony Michel	NE

	Wide Receivers		Flex
1	AJ Brown	TEN	3
2	DeAndre Hopkins	HOU	7
3	Michael Thomas	NO	8
4	DJ Moore	CAR	9
5	Courtland Sutton	DEN	12
6	Tyler Boyd	CIN	17
7	Davante Adams	GB	20
8	DeVante Parker	MIA	23
9	Julio Jones	ATL	24
10	Tyreek Hill	KC	27
11	Robert Woods	LAR	29
12	Keenan Allen	LAC	31
13	Kenny Golladay	DET	32
14	Allen Robinson II	CHI	33
15	Mike Williams	LAC	34
16	Michael Gallup	DAL	35
17	Julian Edelman	NE	38
18	Stefon Diggs	MIN	42
19	Amari Cooper	DAL	43
20	Tyler Lockett	SEA	44
21	Terry McLaurin	WAS	45
22	Breshad Perriman	TB	46
23	Will Fuller V	HOU	47
24	Robby Anderson	NYJ	48
25	Anthony Miller	CHI	53
26	Jarvis Landry	CLE	54
27	Cooper Kupp	LAR	58
28	DJ Chark Jr.	JAX	62
29	John Brown	BUF	64
30	Curtis Samuel	CAR	65
31	Randall Cobb	DAL	66
32	Darius Slayton	NYG	67
33	DK Metcalf	SEA	68
34	Deebo Samuel	SF	72
35	James Washington	PIT	73
36	Zach Pascal	IND	75
37	Emmanuel Sanders	SF
38	Adam Thielen	MIN
39	Christian Kirk	AZ
40	Marcus Johnson	IND

	Tight Ends		Flex
1	George Kittle	SF	30
2	Tyler Higbee	LAR	37
3	Zach Ertz	PHI	39
4	Travis Kelce	KC	41
5	Jared Cook	NO	51
6	Darren Waller	OAK	55
7	Mark Andrews	BAL	61
8	Kaden Smith	NYG	63
9	Jacob Hollister	SEA
10	OJ Howard	TB
11	Kyle Rudolph	MIN
12	Cameron Brate	TB
13	Hunter Henry	LAC
14	Austin Hooper	ATL
15	Noah Fant	DEN

	Kickers
1	Jason Sanders	MIA
2	Kai Forbath	DAL
3	Younghoe Koo	ATL
4	Wil Lutz	NO
5	Randy Bullock	CIN
6	Justin Tucker	BAL
7	Brandon McManus	DEN
8	Robbie Gould	SF
9	Dan Bailey	MIN
10	Michael Badgley	LAC

	Defenses
1	Kansas City
2	Atlanta
3	Denver
4	NY Jets
5	Indianapolis
6	Seattle
7	Pittsburgh
8	LA Chargers
9	New England
10	San Francisco