Christian

McCaffrey

McCaffrey has been a feature back since joining the 49ers, and it went to a new level last season. He played at least 78% of the 49ers' offensive snaps in every situation, which is unheard of for running backs in today’s age. A lot of the early down snaps he missed were due to garbage time when the 49ers had a large lead.

The one area where McCaffrey’s numbers could get even better this year is rushing efficiency. He’s great with perfectly blocked runs but doesn’t see those as much as other running backs. The 49ers have retained their offensive line from last season. Spencer Burford started most of last season at right guard over Jon Feliciano, but this combination of offensive linemen should lead to more success for McCaffrey. The continuity from playing together should help. The main concern is Trent Williams will be turning 36 years old. He’s played his best football in his 30s, so he is already the exception to the rule, but at some point, we expect his quality of play will decline, which could be this year.

McCaffrey should be the 1.01 because of how far ahead he is from his competition. He has the right combination of volume and efficiency in both the run and pass game in addition to continuity with everyone on the offense. Like any player, there is risk, but given how far apart McCaffrey is from all other running backs, even worse production could still lead to an RB1 season.