Santa Clara, Calif. — In the opening days of organized team activities, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t want to rush his team back. After all, the Niners had made another deep playoff run, and even though teams can’t have padded practices in OTAs, Shanahan wanted to really make it easier for his team to get back to work on the field.
So when the 49ers lined up in the first set 11-on-11, they did so without pads and helmets. It’s hard to extract much from what amounts to a glorious run, but there was one player who was impossible to miss: running back Christian McCaffrey.
For those watching McCaffrey, it was hard to tell if it was the May 23 outdoor game or a late-season NFC West game. He was involved in every step of the workout, shredding sprints at top speed and attacking every drill with passion.
“He set the standard,” said quarterback Tre Lance. “He’s quickly grown into a fantastic leader in our dressing room, and I think a lot of the guys had a feeling this was going to happen very quickly based on who he was.”
It may be difficult to gauge McCaffrey’s impact on the San Francisco locker room after his arrival in a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 21, but there’s no denying that his performance on the field has made him one of the most influential acquisitions of the season in recent times. History of the NFL.
Before McCaffrey joined the starting lineup in Week 8, the Niners ranked 20th in the NFL in points per game (20.7), 13th in yards per game (355) and 18th in projected points added (-0.04). San Francisco went 3-4 in that period.
Including the postseason, they are third (28.6), seventh (362.5), and third (6.8) in those categories, respectively, after McCaffrey took over as the starter. The Niners went 12-1, falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.
Despite this production, the 49ers and McCaffrey believe there are plenty of ways to elevate his game—and thus the entire offense—to another level in his first full season as a Niner. While McCaffrey has always participated fully in the offseason program, most of which is not mandatory and many stars avoid, there was never any doubt that he would attend to every bit of it.
“I just try to learn as much as I can,” McCaffrey said. “It’s nice to be able to start from square one and get it right [running backs] trainer [Bobby] Turner and making sure that they not just learn the plays but learn all the ins and outs of the situations.”
That represented a far cry from the crash course McCaffrey took before stepping onto the field against the Kansas City Chiefs less than 48 hours after arriving in San Francisco. From there, McCaffrey was able to learn more each week, but most of it was dedicated to the game plan. Which means this inappropriate is his first chance to delve into the nitty-gritty of Shanahan’s crime.
It’s something McCaffrey, who has played games for five offensive tackles in six NFL seasons, doesn’t take for granted.
“At Carolina, we’ve always had different coaches…,” McCaffrey said. “So, I was always learning the plays.”
All of this begs the question: How far can McCaffrey go with a complete outage of Shanahan’s system under his belt?
McCaffrey’s history suggests there are still plenty of ways to up his game. Only once in his career has he been healthy for a full season and worked with the same caller the year before. It was in 2019, when Norv Turner had a second season calling plays for the Panthers. It was McCaffrey’s best year, as he recorded 2,392 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns in 16 games. This came on the heels of a 2018 season in which he reached 1,965 scrimmage yards and 13 touchdowns in 16 games.
In 13 games with San Francisco’s starting running back last season, McCaffrey averaged 111.3 scrimmage yards per game (72.8 rushing and 38.5 receiving) while scoring 13 combined touchdowns on 19.5 touches per game. He was estimated over the course of a 17-game season, which amounted to 1,892 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns, in line with his 2018 production.
On a team that also featured talented players in skill positions such as receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle, linebacker Kyle Juszczyk and running back Elijah Mitchell, it was McCaffrey who developed into the Niners’ top pick over the latter half of the season. season and the playoffs. That talented staff should provide McCaffrey with continued opportunities to make big plays, but it also means he’s unlikely to return to a similar workload of 25.2 touches per game that he had in 2019.
Most likely, the Niners will be looking to manage Mcaffrey’s health; He played 10 games combined in 2020 and 2021 due to ankle, shoulder, groin and hamstring injuries and had to limit his training involvement at the end of last season due to a knee problem – while working with fellow fullbacks Mitchell and Jordan Mason. That means McCaffrey could end up near the 20.4 touches he averaged in 2018, which, if he can stay healthy, could potentially push him toward 2,000 scrimmage yards.
Such a season would come as no surprise to Niners quarterback Sam Darnold, who played for McCaffrey at Carolina and has seen the results of his off-season style firsthand.
“I’m used to it,” Darnold said. “It’s just his work ethic, and that’s never going to change… He’s just got a great work ethic and I think guys respond to that really well and he kind of drives the guys around him.”