Christian McCaffrey thrills full offseason with 49ers

The situation is dramatically different from last year, when CMC arrived at the club in the middle of the season with the mission of learning the plays on the fly.

SANTA CLARA — In the early days of organized team activities, the head coach of the san francisco 49ersKyle Shanahandid not want to rush the return of his team, After all, the Niners they had gone deep into the playoffs, again, and while teams can’t hold equipped workouts during organized team activities, Shanahan he really wanted to calmly bring his squad back into action on the driving range.

So when the 49ers lined up for their first 11-on-11 work session, they did so without shoulder pads or helmets. It’s hard to get too much out of something that amounts to a glorified drill, but there was one player that was impossible to ignore: the running back. Christian McCaffrey.

For those watching McCaffreyit was difficult to specify if it was the organized activities of the team on May 23, or a confrontation of the NFC Oeste by the end of the campaign. He was engrossed in every step of the practice, hitting long runs and attacking decisively every drill.

“He sets the standard,” said the quarterback. Trey Lance. “He’s quickly grown into a leader in our locker room, and I think a lot of guys believed that would happen very soon, based on who he is.”

It could be difficult to measure the impact of McCaffrey in the dressing room of San Francisco after arriving via exchange of Carolina Panthers on Oct. 21, but there’s no denying that his performance on the field made him one of the highest-impacting midseason acquisitions in recent league history. NFL.

Before McCaffrey will be inserted into the starting lineup in Week 8, the Niners were ranked No. 20 in the NFL in points per game (20.7), 13th in yards per game (355) and 18th in aggregate expected points (-0.04). San Francisco he went 3-4 in that span.

Including the postseason, they placed third (28.6), seventh (362.5) and third (6.8) in those same categories, respectively, after McCaffrey took over as owner. The Niners They accumulated a 12-1 record, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in it NFC Championship Game.

Despite that production, the 49ers y McCaffrey believe there are plenty of ways to take their game — and, by extension, their entire offense — to another level in their first full season with the Niners. Although McCaffrey He has always participated fully in the offseason program, most of its portions being voluntary and bypassed by star players, there was never any doubt that he would attend every phase of it.

“I just try to learn as much as possible,” he said. McCaffrey. “It’s nice to be able to start from the first step and align well with the coach [de corredores, Bobby] Turner and make sure that it’s not just learning the plays, but learning every single detail of the position.”

That represents a drastic change from the crash course he was put through. McCaffrey before taking the field against the Kansas City Chiefs less than 48 hours after arriving at San Francisco. From there, McCaffrey he was able to learn a little more each week, but most of it was specific to the game plan in place. That means this offseason is his first opportunity to delve into the finer details of the offense. Shanahan.

It’s something that McCaffreywho has played for five different offensive coordinators in six seasons NFLdo not take it for granted.

“In Carolinawe always had new coaches arriving…”, highlighted McCaffrey. “So he was always learning plays.”

It all leads us to the next question: how far can McCaffrey with a full campaign break in the system Shanahan?

The story of McCaffrey suggests that there are plenty of ways for you to raise your game. Only once in his career has he been healthy for an entire season, and he worked with the same playcalling coach as the year before. That happened in 2019, when Norv Turner obtained a second campaign in command of the plays for the Panthers. That was the best year of McCaffrey, after accumulating 2,392 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns in 16 games. That followed a 2018 season in which he had 1,965 scrimmage yards and 13 touchdowns in 16 games.

In 13 games as starting running back for San Francisco last year, McCaffrey he averaged 111.3 scrimmage yards per game (72.8 rushing and 38.5 receiving) while scoring a combined 13 touchdowns on 19.5 touches per game. Extrapolating those numbers over a 17-game season, that would come up with 1,892 yards from scrimmage with 17 touchdowns, close to his 2018 output.

On a team that also boasts offensive talent in skill positions like wide receivers Deebo Samuel y Brandon Aiyukthe tight end George Kittleel fullback Kyle Juszczyk and the corridor Elijah Mitchellwas McCaffrey who evolved to become the main option of the Niners in the second half of the season, and in the playoffs. That talented cast must offer McCaffrey continued opportunities to make big plays, but it also means he’s unlikely to return to a workload similar to his 25.2 touches per game in 2019.

It is more likely that 49ers seek to manage the health of McCaffrey; He played in a combined 10 games between 2020 and 2021 with ankle, shoulder, thigh and hamstring injuries, and had to limit his participation at the end of last season with a knee issue, while sharing carries with Mitchell y Jordan Mason. That means McCaffrey he could end up closer to the 20.4 touches he averaged in 2018, which, if he can stay healthy, would probably get him closer to 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

Such a season would come as no surprise to the Los Angeles quarterback. Niners, Sam Darnoldwho played with McCaffrey in Carolina and who has seen the results of his offseason strategy in person.

“I’m used to that,” he said. Darnold. “It’s just his work ethic, that’s never going to change. … He just has a great work ethic and I think the guys respond to that very well and he pushes those around him.”