After San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey essentially carried his team’s offense for much of last season, one would think people around the NFL would give him his respect.
That’s not the case, though, as an anonymous blatantly disrespected McCaffrey with a recent comment.
In a ESPN ranking of the best running backs in the NFL, based on anonymous executives, coaches, and scouts, McCaffrey came in fourth place behind Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Saquon Barkley.
Here is what an anonymous NFL executive had to say about McCaffrey:
“He's declined some -- I think you will see more juice if he doesn't have to be the focal point of both the run and pass game. But he's such an elite overall player with versatility who takes care of himself that he can be a top guy for at least one more year."
Saying that he’s declined after he nearly had 1,000 rushing and receiving yards last season is remarkable. Sure, maybe McCaffrey doesn’t quite have the burst or raw speed that he once did now that he’s 30 years old, but he’s still such a threat.
If word of this gets back to McCaffrey that some think he’s on the decline and that he’s only got one good year left in him, that will probably only put a chip on his shoulder as he tries to prove everyone wrong.
The executive does have a point that McCaffrey cannot be expected to carry as much of the load as he did last season. He was asked to do so much last year, and the Niners have to take some of that off his plate.
They should be able to do that with wide receiver Mike Evans in the fold. With such an established, proven veteran in the mix, he is going to draw some attention away from McCaffrey, which should help him.
The Niners also have two young running backs they are high on in Jordan James and Kaelon Black, so they might take some carries from McCaffrey and get him more time to rest on the sideline.
Ed McCaffrey did warn recently, though, that taking his son off the field is a bit risky because simply having him on the field forced the defense to account for him. Even if he’s just a decoy, CMC can be effective, so it will be interesting to see how head coach Kyle Shanahan and the entire coaching staff tries to strike that balance.
Anonymous NFC executives saying McCaffrey is washed is probably the best thing for 49ers fans, though, because it means the All-Pro has a chance to go out and prove everyone wrong yet again.
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