Here is why the addition of Christian McCaffrey is a game changer for San Francisco.
The 49ers offense under Kyle Shanahan was at its best in 2019.
A large part of their success that season was they had complementary running backs.
Tevin Coleman was the grinder. He would beat up teams between the tackles but wasn’t much of a threat to beat opponents around the edge.
That’s where Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert stepped in. This duo gave Kyle Shanahan a back who could score from anywhere on the field.
What made them so tough to defend was they weren’t limited to only beating defenses around the edge. Breida and Mostert were both solid inside rushing threats as well. They finished the season with an average of 5.4 yards per carry on 260 attempts.
This element has been missing from Kyle Shanahan’s offense ever since.
San Francisco traded Breida to Miami and Mostert was unable to stay healthy, playing only nine games in 2020 and 2021.
The lack of an explosive element in the ground game led Shanahan to begin using Deebo Samuel as a running back. Over the second half of the regular season, Samuel ran the ball 53 times. The wide receiver averaged 6.5 yards per rush and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Through the first six weeks of this season things haven’t gone so well on the ground. Opposing teams have figured out that when Elijah Mitchell or Jeff Wilson Jr. is in the backfield the ball is going between the tackles.
Opposing defenses have also realized that when Deebo Samuel is in the backfield the ball is usually going to the edge.
As a result, defenses began to overplay the run and were willing to take their chances on the occasion when the 49ers tried to change it up.
While Samuel is a terrific player, he doesn’t have the best vision or feel in the running game.
This is where the addition of McCaffrey will elevate the 49ers offense.
McCaffrey has the ability to beat defenses inside, run around the edge or as a pass catcher. He and Samuel share those traits.
The difference between the two is vision. Unlike Samuel, McCaffrey has years of experience with seeing what’s in front of him. He shows patience to the hole and the ability to explode through it.
Samuel will still be utilized in the running game, but now he can go back to being the wide receiver who beats you on an end around. Another weapon the which made that 2019 offense so explosive.
Kyle Shanahan has all the pieces in place. Now it’s time for him to make the most of them.
Looking ahead, with this pickup how does that change Shannies thoughts on using Trey next season? CMC through the tackles is a better look?
Rib,
If they can run the ball better out of their normal stuff with McCaffrey, we’ll probably see less of Lance on designed runs.
Nice write up Jack, now we need to get healthy. If healthy, this team can certainly get to the Super Bowl.
If he stays healthy he can turn this team around.
If he gets injured quickly, Shanny will have a long season with no draft picks.
I’ve always advocated getting a proven product over a new shiny one, hence my belief in JG over TL
Jack,
I believe that CMC is a top 10 back but I also believe he has lost a step. He still posses’s above Avg. speed but he doesn’t seem to have that elite explosiveness that he had when he entered the league. Do you know if his MPH have been measured this season. It seems like the TV networks do that on a regular basis. I would like to see CMC in the same backfield as Mitchell when he returns.
OC,
I haven’t seen any MPH stats this year. Very well could see CMC in there with Mitchell or Wilson Jr.
Our Superbowl window is larger now with CM. But he has to stay healthy and Shanahan needs to put him in situations that utilize CMs talent.
I’m not merely looking at CM as our ticket for a SB appearance this season, but for seasons to come. For this to happen, I believe that the ratio for CM is 40% run and 60% receiving in order for him to have longevity.
Wilson is not the worse starting rb in the league…..
Mitchell probably around the middle of the pack….
CMC top tier…….
So, a decent rb in Wilson now 3rd string!
A really good rb in Mitchell now 2nd string!
CMC gets to have fun again, being an offensive weapon on a winning team….instead of being ran into the ground on a bad team year after year!
The Mcaffery/ Shanahan/49er connection has fairytale written all over it! The prodigal son returned home and almost retuned us to SB winning glory………but not quite…….now that the 2nd prodigal son has returned………………. to be continued
J,
Nice write up. I really hope it pans out this way.
Imho, Shanahan will take a big hit from the fans and the FO if he can’t deliver on offense now that we have a top weapon to join all the others on the team.
AES, thanks! your right, Shany will get hammered if we don’t win the SB. He’s been getting hammered a lot lately and it blows my mind. teams don’t win, or even sniff SBs without hall of fame level Qbs!!! but we did. he took the worst roster in the league and almost won the SB within 3 years. With a decent qb, we contend every year ! When we get an elite qb, were back to dynasty level.
Shany the 3rd or 4th best HC in niner history?? certainly in the last 45 years….. Walsh, Siefert then Shany or Harbaugh.
actual bad 49er coaches- Erickson, Nolan, Sing, Kelly, Tomsula….
I forgot about Mooch. He wasn’t bad. He inherited a decent roster and a HoF qb……but never did much. Presided over the death of a dynasty…but to no real fault of his own.
Shanahan is only hammered by some know nothing fans but not by anyone who matters or is a knowledgeable football person. It’s too soon to rank Shanahan in my opinion but he’s already near the top and could continue to rise.
Felix, well said my friend! cheers!
Thank you, Felix. Please have my pants pressed by Sunday. No starch.
on a more serious note- many comments on the previous thread about the trade….
some opined a trade for Burns would have been better ( rb devalued, etc,etc,) what about Jackson and Ebukam? not to mention the D is tops in the league! certainly not the problem. Offense is middle of the pack, defiantly needed a boost. Drake Jackson is the long term answer to bookend with Bosa. We have plenty of depth as well. Bosa is getting paid soon, Jackson not for a while. Had we traded for Burns ( it would have been overkill) idk how we would have afforded to pay Bosa, then Burns a year or 2 later……contracts that pay near or excess of $30 mil a year.
Some considered the draft capital we gave up to be excessive….
Sure, well miss that 5th round pick….that is the round we find diamonds in the rough year in and year out.
The 2nd rounder will be missed too. The 3rd rounder would have been wasted on a rb who couldn’t carry CMCs jock strap! The 4th could have been an Olinemen or a DB project.
In the Baalke/Harbaugh era…..Baalke refused to package picks to move up and draft difference makers. The thing was…..not only were we a player or 2 away…..thus it making sense to do so…..but those rosters were stacked!!!! and had no room for 7-12 rookies to make the team! We face a similar situation now. Baalke blew it! His ( failed) strategy was to draft a bunch of hurt guys that he could stash on IR, then not have to re-sing our own valuable free agents……worked out so well that he lost his job, was out of the league for half a decade……and presided over our SB window being slammed shut so hard…..within a year or 2 we had one of the worst rosters in the league!!!!! oh, and not ONE of those hurt players ever rebounded to have a decent career.
Lynch and Shany doing the opposite, packaging picks for superstar difference makers is a welcome breath of fresh air.
Last but not least, the elephant in the room……the injuries.
Having CMC on my fantasy teams 2020/2021 i know first hand better than anyone outside of Carolina how devastating those were. couple thoughts….
1. being the best and only weapon that offense had….the poor guy was likely overused and sacrificed into the teeth of the defense time and time again .
2. a high ankle sprain was the worst of the injuries. No ACL, no achilleas, no broken bones. This raises the question-did he miss more games than necessary to be on the safe side? Its not like the panthers were playing for anything….unless you count the #1 pick in the draft!
CMC just turned 26…..so he will be in his prime, even for a rb…..the entire length of the contract we just traded for ( through the 2025 season)
J,
I was one of the few that advocated for Burns, because I’m not convinced that Bosa can stay healthy.
If Bosa’ career is going to be in the area of anywhere between 12-14 games per season it will be concerning to me.
I’m sure that Jackson is our long-term future, but Ebukam may not be. Burns is only 24 YO and could have been that long-term player. Now, if Bosa could prove that he can play the better part of a full season, I definitely would have pitched the move for Burns.
It’s all water under the bridge now.
AES, you make some good points. EDGE is the one position you can never have enough of. I think I’m higher on Ebukam than most. The problem is paying up for premium EDGE. 2 EDGE and 1 qb is over $100 mil per year against the cap. You have to be creative. Have 1 high paid stud ( bosa) a guy on a rookie contract ( Jackson) and a project or 2 ( Ebukam). it helps that the coach, the system and the depth all benefit each other.
Give me a break!
The 49ers let Raheem Mostert walk this offseason, because of his durability issues, even though he was cheap, knew the system, and was a near perfect fit for Kyle’s outside-zone scheme. Apparently Kyle didn’t believe he could win with the dynamic Raheem Mostert and his 6.2 YPC since the start of 2019 (including his record breaking postseason performances), because Raheem just couldn’t stay healthy for the 49ers, as he was only healthy enough to play in 31 games for the Niners, since the start of the 2019 season.
OK, fair enough. I’ll accept this way of thinking from Kyle, even though Mostert was very inexpensive, incredibly productive as an outside-zone rusher who I LOVED watching dominate in Kyle’s system.
But then this? Lady and gentlemen, Christian McCaffery has been equally as injury prone as Mostert. Since the start of 2019, Mostert has been healthy enough to play in a total 31 games, and guess what …. McCaffrey has been healthy enough to play in a total of 32 games during the exact same span!
And the 49ers have already used TWO 3rd round picks on RB’s over the last two years to replace Moster (who cost ZERO picks BTW), and now they have traded away 4 more draft picks for McCaffrey (that’s 6 total draft picks, including 3 third rounders), at the RB position, which has been the most DEVALUED offensive skill position in the NFL! That’s just bad football business, and almost as bad as spending 3 first round picks on a a QB who can’t play football from within inside the pocket!
I like CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY, and I recognize he gives the 49ers another dynamic “wide-back”, who is capable of bailing out Jimmy Garoppolo, but this doesn’t fix was is ailing Kyle’s offense unless this was a package deal and MIKE McDANIEL is coming over as part of this trade! What this was, is nothing more than an overly emotional PANIC move by a Head Coach who makes a habit of making overly-emotional decisions, and is currently stuck in the mud, not because he was short of offensive playmakers, but because the league has caught up to him, because he can’t figure out his QB position, which is the most important single position in pro sports, and therefor his is officially losing the trust of the 49ers fanbase!
Sorry, my bad. I forgot they also spent a 6th rounder on Elijah Mitchell during this span, so that’s SEVEN draft picks in TWO years, on the most devalued offensive position in football! So what happens to the other 2 established RB’s in Mitchell and Wilson? And what about this years 3rd round pick with young, fresh legs. Or the UDFA who every says looks like a young Marion Barber?
Everyone said the Rams u excessive use of trading away draft picks for players was going to eventually catch up to them, and it kind looks like it finally has. But they have RINGS because for crying out loud, they weren’t trading away a bunch of draft picks for RB’s, which has become the most devalued offensive position in the NFL. They were trading picks for QB’s, and WR’s, and Pass Rushers! SMH!
Jaxson, ill bite. home sick today lol.
You keep emphasizing the devalued position of rb……do you know why its devalued? of course not, so ill explain….their careers are usually over around the age of 30……
BUT YOU KEEP BEATING THE DRUM FOR RM. WHOS ALMOST 31!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
do you see the flaw in your point now ???!!!
You keep thumbing your nose at one who just turned 26!!!!
Another reason for being devalued- its a passing league these days…….but we run the ball more than anyone! were and OLD SCHOOL offense
the 3 rd reason- rbs cant catch….so you go rb by committee. a fast guy to run outside, a tough guy to run up the middle and short yardage….and one who can catch to play 3rd downs…..CMC can do ALL 3!! and he might not be THE BEST RB IN THE LEAGUE…..but hes the best pass catcher! Better than guys whos sole purpose is to catch the ball on 3rd down.
You do know hes one of 3 players in the history of the NFL to have over 1,000 yards rushing and over 1,000 receiving in the same year don’t you? Along with Marshal Faulk and Roger Craig.
The only issue with CMC is possible overuse….the same with Mitchell. Now they get t share the back field along with Wilson…..meaning we will ALWAYS have a set of fresh legs to pound a tired defense ( also why we invest so much in our D line, so that their never tired)
You keep speaking of draft picks as if they are sure things. Have you been a niner fan more than 3 years? i Ask ‘cos we actually spent 3 3rd round picks on rbs in Shany era…..with nothing to show for it ( joe Wlliams or something in ’17)
And its pretty silly for you to have Judged Trey Lance after 3 games dude!!! A really bad look…..the truth is…its proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that you know nothing and i shouldn’t even be acknowledging you.
Go look at Peyton Mannings stats from rookie year, let alone first 3 games . LMFAO
That guy is just so anti Niners that can’t help himself from saying stupid things.
J, I just gave you statistics that support my argument that Christian McCaffrey’s being added to an offense that already has RB’s who are running the ball better than McCaffrey. And then you reinforce my argument by reminding us how short a running back’s career is. At least Mostert has ben generally lightly used as a RB, and is as cheap as they come.
I’ll give you this much, J, you are partly right on this. One of the reasons the RB position has been devalued is because the average RB career lasts less than 4 seasons. But guess what, Christian McCaffery is now in his 7th season. Do you think it’s a coincidence that he never missed a game during his first 3 seasons, but now he can’t stay on the field, and has been healthy enough to play less than 6 games per season, over the last 3 years.
But more importantly than that, nothing much really changes for the 49ers with McCaffrey in the mix. The 49ers stable of RB’s are still going to be facing more defenders in the box, than any other stable of RB’s in the NFL, and they are STILL going to be struggling to run the football because of Jimmy and Kyle’s inability to keep opposing defenses from stacking the box with 8-9, sometimes 10 fricken defenders, because the 49ers can’t stretch the football field vertically!
The NFL is not a game that is primarily played horizontally, and it hasn’t been in a long time. Remember the year Marshawn Lynch went all Beast-Mode during in the postseason? Did you know that wasn’t the year that the Seahawks won the Super Bowl?
One of Kyle Shanahan’s best strengths as a HC was his ability to find no-name running backs, often times undrafted, and turn them into dynamic runners. And that was great advantage to have when other teams are spending 1st and 2nd round picks on RB’s who began to deteriorate physically, before the ink even dried on their rookie contract. Draft capitol is value when it comes to building an NFL roster. It is ABSOLUTELY RIDICOULOUS to spend SEVEN draft picks over a 3-4 year span, including THREE 3rd round picks, all on the RB’ position, which was the one position that the Shanahan’s were better than everyone else at finding and cultivating RB talent without spending a fortune in cap space or draft capitol (and BTW, draft capitol = cap space).
I’ll end with this statement: The 49ers will be a marginally better team with McCaffrey on the roster. The 49ers are 100% ALL IN now, and that for me is the only part of this that I like. Until Jimmy Garoppolo learns to make teams pay for the way they are currently defending Kyle’s offense schematically, the 49ers can spend as many draft picks on the RB position that they want, it’s never going to make a difference.
QUARTERBACK, CORNERBACK, A SOLID OL, and a deep PASS RUSHING STOUT DEVENASIVE FRONT SEVEN are what wins Super Bowls these days. A COMPTETENT RUSHING ATTACK IS MERELY A BONUS, when it comes to winning Super Bowls.
IF FRANK GORE couldn’t get it done for the 49ERS, I PROMISE YOU that, until the 49ers find a quarterback who can win games with his arm, and make defenses pay for selling out to stop the run, and a HC who can coach without allowing his emotions to cloud his judgement, the 49ers WILL NEVER WIN THEIR 6TH SUPER BOWL, no matter how many pick they spend on the running back position!
Jaxson, Jaxson Jaxson…..before i bury Mostert, i want to say i loved the guy too. Drafted him in all 3 of my fantasy leagues the last 3 years. And, so far, he’s managed to stay healthy and rise to the top of Miami depth chart. But his numbers this year pail in comparison to CMC. Even though he has the 2 fastest wrs in the league in Miami, in theory preventing D’s from focusing on him. In Carolina, the opposing D’s sole focus on CMC.
Mostert is well over 30!! end of story!
Kidding, cant let you off that easy. Mostert had back to back seasons with devastating injuries….you must have missed the part where i pointed out that CMC’s weren’t that bad….leading me to wonder if he was simply playing it safe since panthers were playing for first pick, not a playoff spot?
Mostert has 4 great games in his career, CMC 4 great seasons.
CMC has elite pedigree (whole family of athletes, star at a big time college program, dad won multiple SBs with Mike Shanahan, niners/Broncos, top 10 pick nfl draft at a time when rbs usually dont go in round 1)
Mostert was an UDFA that bounced around the league before finding an success.
Shany saw enough….RM burned us 2 years in a row when it was SB or bust ( my wording here seems harsh. personally i like RM the man and the player. Might not be fair to blame the guy for injuries)
CMC burned the PANTHERS when they were playing for nothing.
Analogy- would you rather take a decent GF back for a 3rd time after cheating on you twice! Or start over with the perfect GF who supposedly cheated on her abusive loser BF ?
And you made my point but thought you destroyed it. We can continue to draft a rb high every year…..and continue to be disappointed every year…….or we can just hit the easy button and trade the picks for a superstar and solve the problem for at least half a decade.
Of the 4 picks we traded…..the reality is that we would have been lucky to hit on one of them
Looking FORWARD not back, you would be very hard pressed to find the equivalent to CMC in any round of the 2023 draft. CMC is a proven talent, well worth what the 49ers gave up for him. He’s a known commodity . Statistically, the chances of finding a starting RB (let alone a super-star) by round; 25% (2nd), 16% (3rd), 11% (4th), 9% (5th). This trade is a no brainer. No one, not even the Carolina Panthers knew what they were getting when they drafted CMC 8th overall in 2017. He was too small, too fragile to withstand the punishment of the NFL game. The Panthers took a chance and at his best, CMC is the best RB in football. I think of him as the reverse of Deebo (WR/RB) as a RB/WR. “Mr. Inside (CMC) playing along Mr. Outside (DS)”. Speaking of Raheem Mostert, how many games has he missed in his career? He’s nowhere near the talent nor does he have the ceiling that CMC has?
Christian M. is a first-rate character. His intelligence is superior and he is a team guy. I admire these values and traits.
Is it true he is seeing a former Miss Universe??? Wonder if she’ll make an appearance Sunday in addition to Harbaugh, Kap (possibly), and McCaffrey??? What a Sunday afternoon this is shaping up to be in Santa Clara.
You must be a huge Kaepernick fan if you admire character, intelligence and team guy.
Something that becomes even more important than before the trade for CMC…….Jimmy G’s health. They traded 4 picks in part to win this year. No disrespect intended to Brock Purdy but if JG goes down now the chances of winning this year go out the window. CMC will only be around for 2 to 3 seasons (RB’s have a short shelf life) and next year will certainly be a growing year for Lance, giving the team maybe 1 more year with an effective CMC. So lets all take moment and give a little prayer for JG this season.
OC, very true about JG. i wouldn’t be shocked if CMC played out his contract ( and even resigned and finished his career here). He would be 29 i think. The $ might be tough once we have pay Bosa and Lance .As far as wear and tear…..i really think we can keep both he and Mitchell healthy with them splitting time
j, I am predicting right now that if the 49ers make the postseason this year, that McCaffrey is going to want a raise. So keep this receipt.
And BTW, I do think Christian McCaffrey is a terrific person, and he is still one of the most dynamic ball carriers in the league, but he is starting to have a lot of wear and tear on his tires these days, and besides, I’d much rather have the football in Deebo’s hands. As good as McCaffrey is, Deebo Samuel is still the most explosive, most dangerous ball carrier in the league, and last time I read the play book, an offense can only use 1 football on any given play.
My point about Mostert is that he looks like he’s still got it, and his cost would have been a fraction-of-a-fraction of McCaffrey’s cost. Not only that, Mostert earned an opportunity to get another chance to win a roster spot this year. Using the injury excuse to let him walk and then turning around and signing an injury prone McCaffrey, usually never plays well in the locker room.
49ers GM John Lynch on the Christian McCaffrey trade: “It’s not going to fix our ills as a team”
The deal for Christian McCaffrey is a solid one. He’s got a great work ethic, he’s got shake and bake, and he has a good motor. He had two excellent years as a great RB, one subpar rookie year, and the last two seasons of injuries. I like this deal because it will enhance the running game because Jeff Wilson Jr. was getting stopped consistently and every now and then he’ll break one. There’s a game that typifies his play. It happened a few weeks ago where he had 19 rushes for 88 yards, and his rushing average was four plus yards per carry, which is a good stat. However, he had two carries for 55 yards – one was for 37 yards and the other was for 18 yards. Thus, his real average was really 17 rushes for 33 yards which slightly less than two yards per carry.
Christian McCaffrey, on the other hand, is electric. He leaps into the end zone like Marcus Allen. The best stat is the season he had a 1000 yards rushing and 1000 yards receiving, so he’s one of three RBs that have this stat. Roger Craig is one and Marshall Faulk is the other.
There are negative two negatives of this move: (1) HC Shanahan is mortgaging the future AGAIN. This time it’s four draft picks for one player (2nd, 3rd, 4th round draft picks in 2023, and a 5th round pick in 2024); and (2) McCaffrey has been injured two of his five seasons. He’s six games into his sixth year. Hopefully, he’ll be a game changer. In addition, 49ers RBs under HC Shanahan often get injured in his running schemes. I’m hoping this is not an omen. The knock on Jimmy G was that the best ability is AVAILABILITY. However, I didn’t hear the press harp about that when Mostert was out for two seasons.
As a 49ers faithful fan, I’m hoping to see HC Shanahan get the 49ers a sixth Superbowl. If he doesn’t by 2024, I’m hoping Jed York hires a coach who runs a pass-first offense, and goes back to the roots of 49ers past success.
If the key players can’t stay healthy and on the field, it makes no difference who the 9ers get in any trade…
Rich Eisen made an interesting point : At the combine CMC outperformed most WRs in receiver drills. Niners now have a great RB who can play receiver … a great WR who can play RB and a great FB who is a the defacto receiving TE.
Concerning Mostert: I don’t know if we offered him a contract, but we should have; especially, because we knew from the get-go that we had no breakaway threat besides Deebo. He went to the Dolphins for 4?-5? million. So what if he got hurt again. The cap/money loss is insignificant compared to his possible production, and it’s not like he would have been keeping an irreplaceable RB off the roster. Mostert is spectacular in his niche. Sure would have helped our dreary running game. Besides, I miss the thrill of watching him run.
Did anyone ascertain if we offered him a contract?
now that im thinking about mostert and money….im pretty sure he strong armed us after the ’19 play off run. after demanding and getting a raise …..he missed both years at age 28 and 29. And im pretty sure he committed the biggest sin of any locker room…..calling out teammates and their salaries. that leaves me with 2 thoughts
1. why would we gamble on him for a 3rd straight year, at age 30, when he couldn’t stay healthy at age 28or 29
2. doubt anyone in the locker room has any love for Mostert’s salary. They let him walk ‘cos hes over 30 years old and and has a whopping 4 good games in his NFL career….and used it to strong arm the team for a raise, threw his teammates under the bus….then blew his opportunity by missing 2 years in a row……ill repeat for Jaxson…..HE BLEW HIS OPPORTUNITY.
As to the question of weather we even offered him a contract, i cant say for sure…but i think we wanted him back at a cost friendly price, considering we paid him starter money for 2 years of zero production…..that seemed fair. I doubt many, if any teams were interested in a 30 year old rb who missed the last 2 years……except us…..and the team coached by his former coach in SF. The Dolphins outbid us……Mostert to McDaniel is what juice was to Shanahan. The new HC overpaying for “his guy” that makes is unique offense work.
Remember, we didn’t have much cap space until JG restructured in late August