SANTA CLARA — Here go the 49ers and Christian McCaffrey on another playoff push. This time, they’re pulling along a third-string defense, at least at middle linebacker for the next couple of weeks.
Should they squeeze into the NFC’s seven-team playoff field, their veteran-laden and highly compensated offense will lead the way, further underscoring the NFL’s offensive-oriented, fantasy-football-friendly world.
McCaffrey rules that galaxy. He is the NFL’s most productive asset.
And his dual-threat ability makes him coach Kyle Shanahan’s ultimate chess piece, which was immediately evident upon McCaffrey’s 2022 midseason trade from the Carolina Panthers. He’ll face them Monday night for the first time as the 49ers (7-4) host the upstart Panthers (6-5) at Levi’s Stadium.
McCaffrey’s production when healthy is always remarkable. This season is different.
Obviously, he is on pace to rack up over 1,000 yards both as a rusher (1,093 yards projected) and a receiver (1,131 yards). That would make him the first member of the 1K/1K club to do so with more receiving than rushing yards.
He joined Roger Craig (1985 49ers) and Marshall Faulk (1999 Rams) in that three-man fraternity in 2019 with the Panthers, when he posted 1,005 receiving yards (72 in the season finale) and 1,387 rushing yards.
In rebounding from last season’s injury-marred, four-game season, McCaffrey has started every game and has 732 receiving yards (74 catches) to go along with 707 rushing yards (193 carries).
His 114-reception projection would come two yards shy of McCaffrey’s single-season NFL record for a running back, from his 2019 season.
“He is the same. He has always been this good,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday when comparing the current McCaffrey to his Panthers tenure. “Christian, his skillset is what makes him special. So, he’s always been like this.”
McCaffrey, following Sunday’s 41-22 win at Arizona, almost scoffed when asked if he ever dreamed of being a wide receiver instead of a running back (and the 2023 NFL rushing leader).
His father, Ed, played wide receiver for 13 years in the NFL (1991-93 Giants, 1994 49ers, 1995-2003 Broncos) and won three Super Bowl rings that he keeps in a safe-deposit box out of his children’s view so they can create their own goals.
Wide receiver better suited his three brothers, too, and McCaffrey did not dismiss receiver skills once he started playing football at age 7, some 22 years ago.
“It was always something that I worked on my whole life,” McCaffrey said Sunday, after a season-low 40 receiving yards were offset by his 80 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
“I always played running back,” he continued. “I never played receiver, but I was fortunate enough to be on teams, even in little league, where they would throw the ball to me. And so it was kind of always a natural thing and I enjoyed doing it. It’s another way to get the ball in my hands.”
Now, in 2025, he leads the NFL with 267 touches, 48 more than runner-up Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. McCaffrey is on pace for 412 touches, which would tie for 29th in NFL history, far behind James Wilder’s 429 for the 1984 Tampa Bay Bucs.
On the day McCaffrey debuted with the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium (Oct. 23, 2022 against the Chiefs), his parents were on the sideline pregame, and Ed McCaffrey spoke to how Christian always insisted upon being an all-around player.
“He views himself as a football player,” Ed McCaffrey reiterated days before the 2023 49ers’ Super Bowl loss in Las Vegas. “If you ask him to play cornerback, he’d play cornerback. If you want him as a slot receiver, he’d play slot receiver. For a while, people would get frustrated with that answer. What position do you play? I’m a football player.”
Is he the NFL’s best football player?
Critics will note his average of 3.7 yards per carry matches his lowest output since his 2017 rookie season as the No. 8 pick out of Stanford. His supporters can point to the 49ers’ offensive line struggles and the quarterback rotation between Brock Purdy and Mac Jones.
Keep in mind, McCaffrey has played 83 percent of the offensive snaps, the highest total of his 49ers tenure.
Going into this season, however, Shanahan knew he’d have to rely on McCaffrey’s receiving prowess. “Yes, we did plan on using him this much,” Shanahan said.
That plan may not be altered anytime soon, not with the wide receiver corps still in flux.
Brandon Aiyuk still has not been cleared to practice, 13 months after his right ACL and MCL tears. Ricky Pearsall just returned from a six-game hiatus. Jauan Jennings sat out most of camp and has battled multiple injuries. Kendrick Bourne has flashed in his second stint, but was shut out last game. And Jacob Cowing won’t be coming off injured reserve before the Week 14 bye.
Purdy and George Kittle are back, however, for an offense that relies on McCaffrey, who has shown no relapses of last season’s Achilles tendinitis or PCL tear.
When it came to reviewing McCaffrey’s workload last game, Shanahan immediately pointed to one play: a third-down, 15-yard reception that McCaffrey jumped sky high to grab and eventually set up his third touchdown of the day.
“He ended up getting man-to-man on a corner and ran a really good comeback round and made a hell of a catch,” Shanahan said.
The Panthers will be reminded this week that they let him go three years ago, without a first-round pick in return. Instead, the 49ers outbid the Rams by sending second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in 2024.
“He’s a special player, a Hall of Famer for sure,” Panthers running back and former teammate Chubba Hubbard told Charlotte reporters. “Just seeing his work ethic and seeing someone get the ball over and over and produce over and over consistently at a high level against anyone and everyone — it’s special to see that.”