The 49ers haven't had a Pro Bowl-caliber feature running back back in nearly a decade. Their trade with the Panthers for Christian McCaffrey changes that.
Coach Kyle Shanahan, in five plus seasons in San Francisco, has had a productive rushing attack with a variety of backs post Frank Gore, from Carlos Hyde to Jeff Wilson Jr. None of them provided the same running and receiving upside McCaffrey will.
Although the deal cost Shanahan and GM John Lynch four draft picks, grabbing McCaffrey's elite and unique skill set was well worth it for the remainder of the 2022 NFL season and beyond. Here's breaking down just how much McCaffrey is an all-around game changer:
How Christian McCaffrey fits the 49ers' offense well now
This season, for their best rushing success, the 49ers have been relying on Wilson, a spry speedster who also works well between the tackles in Shanahan's zone-blocking system. But like with a lot of recent Shanahan backs, he's also had key injury issues.
The team was set to start second-year man Elijah Mitchell, but he came up lame with a knee sprain in Week 1 and remains on the shelf. Rookie Tyrion Davis-Price just came back from an ankle injury he suffered in Week 2.
McCaffrey's own durability issues have been well documented, but he's been healthy in his Age-26 season and the 49ers should have more trust in him as a reliable and versatile workhorse. His elusiveness, shiftiness, toughness and cutback ability makes him ideal to be highly productive in Shanahan's scheme. McCaffrey also gets a major blocking upgrade, working behind an offensive line featuring top NFL left tackle Trent Williams — who will return healthy for the Chiefs in Week 7.
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The 49ers spread the ball around in the passing game well. Wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are interchangeable route runners who play off each other well with their quicknesses, all over the field. Tight end George Kittle, another blocking boost for McCaffrey, remains a dangerous down-the-seam threat whenever needed. Before acquiring McCaffrey, hybrid fullback Kyle Juszczyk was their best dedicated backfield receiver. McCaffrey provides a few extra gears in that capacity.
No team can afford to load up to stop McCaffrey and the run vs. the 49ers because of Samuel and Kittle. When they work to double-team or contain either Samuel or Kittle outside or inside on intermediate-to-deep routes, McCaffrey will see extra open field off short-area catches for Jimmy Garoppolo.
The 49ers won't only be a dynamic and harder-to defend offense overall with more daunting balancing and explosiveness. More important, they also will be a more efficient ball-moving and higher-scoring offense. McCaffrey gives them the attack to stack up with anyone in the NFL and make sure their own loaded defense is better position to succeed than that of the NFC's top competition, led now by the Eagles.
How Christian McCaffrey fits the 49ers' offense better later
The 49ers did go somewhat "all in" with how much they gave to get McCaffrey. It goes against the grain in an era where running backs aren't valued or paid at the level of other offensive positions. But this isn't just a half-season rental with eyes on fielding a Super Bowl-winning offense.
McCaffrey may be getting more handoffs in relation to receptions from Garoppolo given the 49ers' current run-oriented philosophy. McCaffrey, however, will have even greater value when paired with the much more athletic and willing stronger-armed running QB Trey Lance in next year's 49ers backfield. They now can scare defenses with the ultimate zone read combination. You can bet Shanahan is already dreaming of past wrinkles, from Colin Kaepernick's time in San Francisco that predates him to the initial breakout of McCaffrey running with Cam Newton in Carolina.
The 49ers might not need McCaffrey as a checkdown option as much in 2022 given their other weapons with the pocket-passing distributor Garoppolo. With Lance, McCafrrey will be huge as an easy receiving outlet for a young QB. Once Lance gets back healthy and feels stronger about his pro downfield passing, McCaffrey won't lose his complementary juice in relation to Samuel, Aiyuk and Kittle.
The 49ers had built up good draft capital where they could afford to part with a chunk of picks. They also still will have Lance on his friendly rookie contract for likely three more years — given his "redshirting" as a rookie and ankle injury in Year 2 sets up the team to have him play through his affordable fifth-year option.
McCaffrey will turn 27 next June. He should be paired with Lance until right before he turns 30. Barring more big injuries, the 49ers should get three high-upside years with McCaffrey before he fades with age and wear.
The 49ers made an aggressive yet calculated move with both their promising short- and long-term prospects in mind. It took a perfect running back for their purposes to do that. It's hard to even imagine better than McCaffrey for the means toward those ends.
