While the San Francisco 49ers are 4-0 after Sunday’s victory over the Denver Broncos, they have certainly been far from perfect. Even star running back Christian McCaffrey, while he’s been productive, hasn’t quite looked like his usual self so far this season.
He has 218 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns through four games, so he’s averaging a little over 50 yards per game. Like always, he’s been a threat as a pass-catcher and has 122 receiving yards on the season.
We saw McCaffrey slow down a bit as a runner last season, and that may be continuing into 2026. He can obviously still run the ball effectively, but at the age of 30, he may not have the same burst that he once had earlier in his career.
Is Christian McCaffrey finally slowing down, or is it something else?
The Niners have wisely been limiting CMC's rush attempts and touches per game. He had 10 rushes in each of San Francisco's first two games and 15 in the last two games. The 49ers seem to be trying to keep him under 20 touches per game, which is a good goal. He hasn’t crossed that threshold once so far this season, and the hope is by keeping him fresher in the regular season, McCaffrey will be able to make a bigger impact, should the Niners make the playoffs.
The emergence of Kaelon Black has allowed San Francisco to employ this strategy. While many questioned why the 49ers selected Black in the third round, he has turned into a very solid rusher who already has the trust of head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Black has 31 rush attempts for 120 yards and made a heads-up play on an accidental direct snap to him on fourth down, which he was somehow able to convert.
Even if Black doesn’t go off, as long as he can hold onto the football and reliably get a couple yards per carry, then he provides value by giving McCaffrey a breather.
It doesn’t seem like McCaffrey is dealing with a major ailment or anything. This may just be who he is at this point in his career, which is totally fine. The 49ers don’t need him to be the rookie version of himself because he is still plenty productive, so even if he’s not quite the CMC we saw at his peak in 2023, he’s still a great player, and the fact Black can give him a rest suggests the best may be yet to come.
Add us as a preferred source on Google