Getty Christian McCaffrey is tipped to make the same impact for the 49ers as a Hall of Fame RB.
Christian McCaffrey couldn’t prevent the San Francisco 49ers from losing 44-23 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7, but his individual performance still provided plenty of excitement about what’s to come from the All-Pro.
Expectations are naturally high for a dual-threat running back who cost the Niners four draft picks to acquire in trade from the Carolina Panthers. In fact, those expectations have one NFL writer tipping McCaffrey to make the same impact as a Hall of Famer who transformed one of the 49ers’ rivals when he was traded in 1999.
McCaffrey Can Match Key Figure From Legendary Offense
It’ll take more than McCaffrey to beat teams like the Chiefs, but Mike Sando of The Athletic still thinks it was worth it for the 49ers to deal with the Panthers. He thinks so because there are favorable comparisons between McCaffrey joining the Niners and Marshall Faulk being traded from the Indianapolis Colts to the St. Louis Rams in 1999.
Sando believes it’s an interesting comparison because of the numbers McCaffrey and Faulk share: “Two players in NFL history own two-plus seasons with at least 800 yards rushing and 800 yards receiving. McCaffrey did it in 2018 and 2019. Faulk did it in 1998, 1999 and 2000.”
As Sando noted, a 49ers legend also matched their brilliance in both phases of offensive football: “Six others have done it once, including former 49ers great Roger Craig in 1985. Faulk, McCaffrey and Craig are the only members in the 1,000-1,000 club.”
McCaffrey’s dynamic, but he still has a ways to go to match Faulk’s streak of prolific numbers as both a runner and receiver, per PFN Fantasy Football:
Most games with 50+ rushing and 50+ receiving yards all-time:
Marshall Faulk – 41
🔵Christian McCaffrey – 24
There are closer comparisons between the two, and Sando isn’t alone in joining the dots. Both backs were the same age when traded, with little to choose between their on-field numbers, according to Jordan Elliott of SB Nation’s Niners Nation:
The best comparison for the Christian McCaffrey trade is probably Marshall Faulk to St. Louis in 1999
Similar skill sets and both players were moved in their age 26 season
I pulled some numbers for McCaffrey and Faulk from their first 5 NFL seasons prior to being traded 👇
Faulk’s contribution to the Rams went beyond mere statistics. He was the catalyst for the birth of the ‘Greatest Shown on Turf,’ the dynamic offense that carried the Rams from NFC West cellar dwellers to unlikely Super Bowl XXXIV champions in the ’99 season.
The scheme worked because of Faulk’s ability to gash defenses on the ground and be a coverage mismatch in the passing game. McCaffrey has the same versatility, qualities he showed in a small sample size against the Chiefs, according to Sando: “He aligned in the backfield 15 times, in the slot four times and wide twice.”
Those snaps yielded 38 yards on nine carries and two receptions for 24 yards. Hardly numbers to make future 49ers opponents cower in fear, but there’s enough reason to believe McCaffrey will improve a 3-4 team the more he gets comfortable with head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense.
Injuries, Luck & Supporting Cast Are Keys to McCaffrey’s Impact
Keeping McCaffrey on the field will naturally determine his impact in San Francisco. Durability is the one notable difference in the Faulk and McCaffrey comparison, per Sando: “Unlike McCaffrey, who missed 23 of 33 games over the previous two seasons, Faulk missed only three games to injury before switching teams.”
Sando’s set the bar for McCaffrey at three seasons of elite production. That’s what Faulk managed in St. Louis and Sando believes the Niners can get the same from their own multi-purpose back “with a little luck.”
It’ll take more than luck, because there’s obviously going to be a learning curve for McCaffrey after five-and-a-bit seasons with the Panthers. Getting up to speed quickly will require him to fit in with what the Niners already do well.
Fortunately, NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger has some tips. The main one is for McCaffrey to follow Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Baldinger showed several plays where McCaffrey found success trailing No. 44:
.@49ers @CMC_22 learned enough of the playbook to make a difference early and like the rest of this #niners team it fizzled late. It would help if the defense could make a stop! #BaldysBreakdowns
One of the more interesting plays occurs at the 1:07 mark of Baldinger’s breakdown. It didn’t involve Juszczyk, but the design did have McCaffrey leaving the backfield to line up as a wide receiver and take a hitch screen for a solid gain.
The play wasn’t much, but it was easy on quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who essentially stole some soft yards at the Chiefs’ expense. Jimmy G needs all of the quick reads and simple throws he can get while he’s struggling since reclaiming the starting job at the expense of injured Trey Lance.
Garoppolo missed on 12 of his 37 attempts against the Chiefs and threw an interception. It was the second-straight game he was incomplete on 12 passes and committed turnovers after Garoppolo tossed a pair of picks during the 28-14 defeat to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6.
McCaffrey needs to become the focal point of both phases of the 49ers’ offense, but Sando still doesn’t believe he’ll “cure their deficiencies in the drop-back passing game.” Sando’s view is shared by NFL.com columnist Jim Trotter, who thinks McCaffrey could be a “luxury” for a team struggling on defense, at quarterback and along the offensive line.
Yet for all his reservations, Trotter does credit McCaffrey with being able to “take some of the weight off Deebo (Samuel).” The latter won’t need to run as much with McCaffrey in the backfield, leaving Samuel to concentrate on winning more often as a wide receiver.
Like Faulk, Samuel shares some awesome numbers with McCaffrey, per Football Perspective:
Only two players in NFL history have averaged a rushing TD every 4 games and also 50 receiving yards per game.
1. Christian McCaffrey
2. Deebo Samuel
Samuel receiving less attention because of McCaffrey is the best reason why the latter can have the same impact for the 49ers Faulk had with the Rams. The 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee made Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt and Az-Zahir Hakim better.
If McCaffrey does the same for Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and tight end George Kittle, the 49ers will soon rally from 3-4 and become genuine Super Bowl contenders again in no time.