San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has a bit of a nasty habit: relying too much on All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.
When CMC is healthy, of course.
In 2023, when the Niners made it all the way to the Super Bowl, McCaffrey played an unprecedented role in Shanahan's offense, amassing a league-high 339 touches for a league-high 2,023 yards and a league-high 21 all-purpose touchdowns.
Of course, the following season hit McCaffrey hard on the injury front, and he was limited to a mere four games before returning with force in 2025.
Shanahan, despite having several conversations with the media about lessening the dual-threat's workload, continued to work his RB1 as hard as possible.
Fortunately, McCaffrey stayed healthy en route to a Comeback Player of the Year award, churning out 2,126 total yards on an NFL-high 413 touches.
That's a lot. And, for a player who'll turn age 30 this offseason, it comes with great risk.
Kyle Shanahan (again) says 49ers must lighten Christian McCaffrey's workload
San Francisco attempted to relieve some of the pressure on CMC last year by trading with the Washington Commanders for running back Brian Robinson Jr. After a 400-yard campaign as McCaffrey's backup, Robinson subsequently signed with the Atlanta Falcons as a free agent.
"I know that I don't want Christian to have to take all of that," Shanahan said, via ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "It was amazing that he did and was able to do that. The reason it's so hard to get Christian out is because of how much he affects everything in the pass game, even when he's not getting the ball... But in order for us to be the running team we want to be, in order to have Christian be as good as he can be throughout the whole year, we've got to get someone to help him."
After icing out 2024 rookie Isaac Guerendo on offense last season, it seems as if Shanahan is still seeking the right answer to spell McCaffrey.
For now, the head coach is eyeing second-year pro Jordan James, who didn't see his first NFL touches until the 49ers were eliminated in the playoffs by the Seattle Seahawks.
"Jordan James came on really strong at the end of last year, but he missed so much in the beginning [because of injuries]," Shanahan said. "He kind of just missed his window to pass some other people up. I wish I would have got him on the field more than I did... He needs to take that next step."
While that's reassuring, Shanahan nevertheless has a tendency to overuse McCaffrey, and the coach has done it twice in the last three years.
Unless James takes that next-level leap, there's a strong chance McCaffrey still winds up seeing too much of the field in 2026.
And taking on all the associated risks with it.