Christian McCaffrey's Impact on the 49ers Offense

McCaffrey is a top running back, but how much has he impacted the 49ers?

The San Francisco 49ers traded their 2023 second, third and fourth round picks and a 2024 fifth rounder to the Carolina Panthers for running back Christian McCaffrey. He is a superstar, he has been since his college days, where he lead the Stanford Cardinal to great seasons. Now in the NFL he has done the same, but his past few years he battled injuries that kept him off the field. The main part about McCaffrey is he's an impact player in the run game and pass game. 

Since he became the 49ers full time starter at running back, which was week 8 against the Los Angeles Rams, the 49ers are 8-0, after starting their season 3-4, McCaffrey has helped turn the 49ers season around and help them to a 11-4 record. In 8 starts with the 49ers McCaffrey has rushed 130 times for 580 yards 5 touchdowns and caught the ball 43 times for 358 yards and three touchdowns. He also has thrown a touchdown. In just 8 starts with the 49ers, McCaffrey has a total of 938 total yards and 8 touchdowns. Thats pretty impressive, not only has he been productive himself, what he has done for the team is incredible. 

Before the 49ers traded for McCaffrey they were 20th in points per game at 20.7 points per game. They are now 8th in points per game at 25 points per game, which keep in mind they are doing so with a seventh round pick at quarterback in Brock Purdy. In their last 3 games they have scored 31 points per game. In the 8 games that McCaffrey has started for the 49ers their offense has averaged 28.7 points per game, which during the 8 game stretch is ranked 4th. Those 8 games have brought the season average up 12 spots in the rankings and up about 4.3 points per game. When watching the 49ers you can see the gravity McCaffrey pulls on defenders. In the pass game he is a safety net for 49er quarterbacks and he also helps create others to get open by defenders being worried that he can take a check down for a touchdown. He creates even when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. Eyes are always on him. 

Not only has McCaffrey helped the offensive outburst of points, the teams defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) ranks first offensively and defensively since the arrival of McCaffrey, the special teams has also improved to 7th. He has not only helped the offense tremendously, he has given the entire team a burst. The locker room gained energy when he arrived, and since then hasn't loss a game since he became the full time starter. Christian McCaffrey's contract will be discussed during the offseason, since he no longer has any guaranteed money. Rightfully so because he has been a huge part of the Kyle Shanahan's offensive attack since he has joined the 49ers, and arguably one of the best 49ers on the roster.