30 best NFL running backs of the 21st century
By Nick Villano
11. Christian McCaffrey, 2017-Present
Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers
Christian McCaffrey’s legacy is so hard to define right now. He’s the best weapon in the league this season. He should be MVP (sorry Lamar Jackson). Ever since he was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, he had them at least within one win of the Super Bowl every season. He did his best to carry those Panthers teams, but they just didn’t have much going for them. He played one playoff game in Carolina, and he went for 16 yards in that game.
There are two versions of McCaffrey. There is the “best in the league” level playmaker, and there’s this fragile running back who has trouble staying on the field. That’s why CMC only has four 1,000-yard seasons. In teams of historical relevance, he’s 90th all-time on the NFL rushing list.
Still, we can’t deny what we’ve seen from McCaffrey so far. He’s a phenomenon on the football field. Teams change their game plan just to stop McCaffrey, and they still fail. This past season, he had 2,023 scrimmage yards, 1,459 rushing yards, and 21 total touchdowns. All of those stats led their respective category. That’s what he can be, and for that, he deserves to be this high on the list, even if he retires tomorrow.