NFL Draft 2017: Top target for each team
By John Buhler
Green Bay Packers: Christian McCaffrey
For Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey to succeed at the NFL level he absolutely has to go to the right team that knows what it is doing offensively. He is a first-round talent and perhaps the Green Bay Packers at No. 29 are one of the great landing spots for the Pac-12 standout.
Green Bay is all about team-first culture. McCaffrey played for an egoless Stanford program under head coach David Shaw. Stanford is known for running one of the best pro-style offenses in the Power 5. Whether it was as a tailback, a slot receiver or returning kicks, McCaffrey simply made plays for the Cardinal the last two seasons.
In three years with the Cardinal, McCaffrey had 632 carries for 3,922 yards and 21 touchdowns. As a receiver, McCaffrey had 99 catches for 1,206 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the return game, he had 90 returns for 1,859 yards and two touchdowns. The guy is electrifying anyway he can get the ball in his hands.
What makes Green Bay an ideal landing spot for McCaffrey is that the Packers don’t exclusively ground-and-pound with their running backs. McCaffrey isn’t a bell-cow and neither is former Stanford standout Ty Montgomery, who was the best runner for the Packers last season. He entered the season as a wide receiver.
A winning, team-first football culture makes Green Bay one of a handful of teams picking in the back-end of the first round that could conceivably draft McCaffrey. Since the Packers need another weapon, especially at running back, why not?