Christian McCaffrey Among RGIII's MVP Front Runners

Christian McCaffrey has a chance to be the first running back to win MVP since Adrian Peterson

Former Stanford star running back Christian McCaffrey is currently the best player on the best team in the NFL in the San Francisco 49ers.

While he is in the midst of battling an oblique/rib injury which he suffered at some point in this past weekend's game against the Cleveland Browns, he is also in the midst of what is looking to be a career year. Through six games played, McCaffrey has rushed for 553 yards on a career-high five yards per carry, while rushing in seven scores and adding another two touchdowns receiving.

His strong showings, as well as his team winning, has essentially sparked the McCaffrey for MVP candidacy, and ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III even went as far as to rank him as one of his top five candidates. 

NFL MVP Front Runners

1-@cheetah
2-@Tua
3-@CMC_22
4-@JaredGoff16
5-@_TJWatt pic.twitter.com/bncBredzPM

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 18, 2023

The only two people above McCaffrey are Miami's lethal passing combination in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. McCaffrey and Hill both have a major uphill battle in winning the award as a quarterback has brought home the MVP trophy every since 1995 except on four occasions. However, McCaffrey historically has a better chance due to the fact that a wide receiver has never won the award.

If the former Stanford star did win MVP, he'd be the first running back to do so since Adrian Peterson in 2012.