The San Francisco 49ers made a bit of a gamble during the 2022 NFL season. They sent a second, third and fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and a fifth-rounder in 2024 to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.
McCaffrey lit it up for the 49ers through the first season and a half of his tenure, as he recorded 3,267 all-purpose yards and 32 touchdowns in his first 27 games. However, during the 2024 season, he played in just four contests due to a smattering of injuries.
This is the essence of why McCaffrey was such a gamble, as he played just 10 combined games in the two seasons prior to San Francisco acquiring him. He is easily one of the best running backs in the league when healthy, but injuries have plagued him throughout his career.
Christian McCaffrey listed as top bounce-back candidate in 2025
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A massive resurgence is expected of McCaffrey this season, however, as he appears to be fully healthy. Bleacher Report's [Moe Moton even ranked him](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25218007-ranking-top-bounce-back-candidates-2025-fantasy-football-season) as the top bounce-back candidate in the NFL for the 2025 season.
"When healthy, McCaffrey is arguably the best fantasy running back to roster, but he comes with significant risk because of his recent injury history," Moton wrote. "Managers should expect a lighter workload for McCaffrey compared to recent years, but he's still one of the league's best pass-catching running backs. In the five seasons that McCaffrey hasn't missed more than one outing, he caught at least 67 passes and finished within the top 10 in scoring among running backs. Even with fewer carries, he's a tier 1 fantasy tailback."
Moton obviously approached this ranking through the lens of fantasy football, but the content holds true. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has seemingly changed his approach as well and may make McCaffrey's workload lighter as he tries to extend his shelf life.
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San Francisco fans would surely rather have McCaffrey play half the snaps in every game than every snap in only a handful of contests all year. Plus, the team has a solid crew of backups in Isaac Guerendo, Jordan James and Patrick Taylor Jr. to take the pressure off McCaffrey.
Unfortunately, McCaffrey did not look quite like himself even when he was healthy last year, as he mustered just 348 all-purpose yards and zero touchdowns during the 2024 season.
However, plenty can change in a year, and McCaffrey is showing all the signs of being a serious bounce-back candidate. The expectations are certainly mounting for the eight-year veteran, but this is nothing new for the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year.
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