McCaffrey is on the Best Three-Year Stretch in NFL History

CMC is putting up legendary numbers

Christian McCaffrey's first three seasons have been some of the best football we have ever seen from one individual. Every NFL fan base wanted McCaffrey coming out of Stanford based off of his stellar play and he ended up with Carolina, which for the Panthers, has been one of their best draft picks in team history. 

Since entering the league, McCaffrey has gone above and beyond all expectations set for him as he has become the best running back in the entire NFL. What makes him so special is his versatility, athleticism, and high football IQ. His numbers have been off the charts, especially last season when McCaffrey became just the third player in NFL history to finish a season with over 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving. The only other two players to achieve this feat was former San Francisco running back Roger Craig in the 1985 season and Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk in 1999.

The Panthers rewarded McCaffrey with a four-year, $64 million new contract, making him the highest paid running back not only in the league, but in the history of the NFL. The extension locks McCaffrey in Carolina though the 2025 season. The new deal comes a few weeks after general manager Marty Hurney stated that he wanted to lock in his franchise player prior to the NFL Draft.

McCaffrey is a threat to opposing defenses every snap he is on the field. The Panthers do an excellent job of getting him the ball often and letting him make plays. He is one of the most used running backs in the passing game the NFL has seen in a long time. I like to compare McCaffrey to Brian Westbrook for the Eagles except McCaffrey is quicker and stronger. New Panthers head coach Matt Rhule has stated "Christian McCaffrey is a centerpiece player that you can build around...he's going to be a special player for us". It sounds like Coach Rhule has exciting plans on how he intends to utilize McCaffrey.

Going off of McCaffrey's stats during his first three seasons shows that he has put together the best three-year stretch in the history of the NFL. Let's take a look at how his numbers compared to some of the greatest NFL players of all time during their first three seasons.

First 3 NFL seasons:

Rush yds
Christian McCaffrey (2,920)
Marcus Allen (2,879)

Rec yds
Christian McCaffrey (2,523)
Marvin Harrison (2,478)

Receptions
Christian McCaffrey (303)
DeAndre Hopkins (239)

Yds from scrim
Christian McCaffrey (5,443)
Barry Sanders (5,391)

— Paul Hembekides (Hembo) (@PaulHembo) April 14, 2020

In these four categories, stacked up against four of the best NFL players in history, McCaffrey is outperforming them during their first three seasons. Based on numbers alone, you could argue that McCaffrey is having the best first three seasons in the history of the NFL as he is the only player to ever amass 2,500 rushing yards and 2,500 receiving yards in his first three seasons. When people argue over if the Panthers should have paid McCaffrey all that money, remember that you aren't getting just a running back, you are getting one of the most dynamic football players to ever play the game.

Do you all think that McCaffrey's first three seasons are the best in NFL history? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

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