Name: Christian McCaffrey
Class: Junior
Height: 5’11″
Weight: 202
Background: Calling the McCaffreys an athletic family is an understatement: Mom (Soccer at Stanford), Dad (16-year NFL vet), and Grandfather (Track at Duke- Silver Medal in 1960 Summer Olympics).
In high school, Christian was a three-sport athlete (basketball, football, and track), he became state record holder for his class (4A), in the 4×200 relay and state champion in 4×100 relay in track and field as a Senior. In football, he’s been the: 2013 All-Colorado player of the year, 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year, and a four-time state champion in football.
Injury History: Undisclosed injury-missed two weeks (October 2016)
Production:
2015: 337 carries, 2,019 yards, 8 touchdowns; 45 receptions, 645 yards, 5 touchdowns.
2016: 253 carries, 1,603 yards, 13 touchdowns; 37 receptions, 310 yards, 3 touchdowns.
[Montel]
Summary: Christian McCaffrey excelled within Stanford’s Pro Style system. As a matter of fact, in 2015, he led Stanford in rushing and receiving yards and became the first Stanford football player to win AP Player of the Year. Similarly, in 2016, he was fourth in the NCAA in rushing, set a school record with 274 rushing yards against Cal and finishes ninth in career touchdowns in Stanford history.
Games Watched: 2015- Iowa
2016- Kansas State, USC, Washington, UCLA, Oregon
Strengths
Vision/Patience: McCaffrey’s ability to wait on and burst through rushing lanes is the best in this year’s class. He’s always exploiting the best available rushing lane and this contributed to his success on offense as well as in the return game.
Elusiveness: Movements behind the line of scrimmage and in the open field are sudden and efficient, he frequently makes the first defender miss. In fact, his array of spin, juke, and stutter-step moves keep defenders on their toes.
Versatility: Tape proves that Christian McCaffrey can consistently impact the game as a receiver, return man, in addition to being a starter at halfback. As a result, NFL offenses do not need to tweak their systems to make him fit, he can thrive in many different offensive philosophies.
Long Speed: McCaffrey ran just inside of 4.5, which felt pretty slow compared to his tape. He can get to his top speed quickly and when he got there at Stanford, defenders struggled to get within ten yards of him.
Weaknesses
Pass Blocking: Not a huge weakness, but can improve pass block technique. Therefore, this aspect of his game may key how many touches he receives early in his career.
[Sean2]
Scouting Combine Analysis
Athlete Type: Dynamic Speed Dominant
Explosive Lower Body: 53rd Percentile Speed: 54th Percentile Dynamic Speed: 90th Percentile
Film Study Grade:
Patience 9.5/10 Vision: 9.5/10 Elusiveness 9.5/10 Long Speed- 9/10
Lower Body 8/10, Pass Blocking 7.5/10.
Hardy’s Take: I felt like Christian McCaffrey should’ve had an even better combine. I expect teams to be interested but maybe a little reserved with their evaluation of him. Overall, the top end of this class didn’t test super well. But I think McCaffrey is still someone I’d at least consider taking in the first. He’s proven over the course of his college career that he can be an every-down back, stayed remarkably healthy, and has mastered the intricacies of the half back position. Consequently, the teams that draft him will likely have a long-term starter at the position.
Draft Projection: Late 1st round