McCaffrey was the number one running back heading into 2024
2025 is an important season for Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers. Coming off a disappointing 2024 season, both McCaffrey and the 49ers are looking for a big bounce-back season. Brock Purdy and the 49ers offense, particularly in the red zone in 2024, clearly missed McCaffrey’s impact on the offense. Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers are relying on McCaffrey in 2025 to help fix the 49ers’ red zone woes.
But just how far has McCaffrey fallen in the running back ranks since 2023?
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN polled NFL league executives, scouts, and coaches to rank 11 different positions.
The panel has McCaffrey at number five with the highest ranking at number three and the lowest as “unranked.” McCaffrey was number one in 2024.
Durability is the one thing holding McCaffrey back. He has missed 10 or more games in three of his past five NFL seasons.
“He’s a great player, but he’s always had durability issues, even in college,” an NFL personnel executive said. “He’s an elite trainer and takes great care of himself. He’s just not a big body and will lose a step eventually.”
A return to 2023 form would put McCaffrey back in the MVP conversation. When he’s healthy, he always produces.
In fact, McCaffrey has four seasons with at least 1,800 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns. The only players with more are all Hall of Famers: Tomlinson, Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith, and Walter Payton (five each).
Since 2006, two players have at least 2,000 scrimmage yards and 25 touchdowns in a season (plus playoffs): McCaffrey in 2023 and Tomlinson in 2006.
“He’s still the prototype — and the best player on the field at times,” an NFC scout said.
Bottom line, if McCaffrey is on the field, he delivers. The problem is keeping him on the field. 2023 was a taxing season on McCaffrey’s body. The key is to find a way to maximize McCaffrey’s impact without overworking his touches. Perhaps this is the season of raising McCaffrey’s efficiency and sparing his body.