Last season general manager John Lynch elected not to enter the Odell Beckham Jr sweepstakes. This year he elected to make a splash before the trade deadline. The San Francsico 49ers are acquiring running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers.
Unlike Beckham Jr, who was a free agent at the end of the season, McCaffrey is under contract until 2025. San Francisco is sending draft picks to Carolina three in 2023 (a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th) and one in 2024.
When McCaffrey is healthy he is among the top running backs in the National Football League, unfortunately between 2020 and 2021 he appeared in only 10 games. In six games this year he has run for 393 yards on 85 carries, which is good for 4.6 yards per carry and he has two touchdowns on the ground. He also has caught 33 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown.
Once Elijah Mitchell is healthy, the 49ers will arguably have one of the best running back tandems in the NFL. Right up there with the Cleveland Browns with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
As for McCaffrey his best season came in 2019 when he carried the ball 287 times for 1,387 yards, 15 touchdowns and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. He also caught 116 passes for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns.
With an offense already featuring wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, and now McCaffrey, head coach Kyle Shanahan now has another weapon to utilize.
It also shows that Lynch is ready for another Super Bowl run. Here is also a look at the reaction on social media.
Both Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey will likely benefit tremendously from this pairing, particularly from a health standpoint. The ability to have another dynamic playmaker to lessen load / usage could be the biggest benefit beyond pure statistics. #49ers
— Dr. Nirav Pandya, M.D. (@DrNiravPandya) October 21, 2022
Awesome to hear Christian McCaffrey is coming to the #49ers #Stanford
— Rex Wang (@wrecks47) October 21, 2022
Awesome to hear Christian McCaffrey is coming to the #49ers #Stanford
— Rex Wang (@wrecks47) October 21, 2022