Christian McCaffrey excels on the field with the San Francisco 49ers during NFL games each week, but the star running back also excels in anagrams, earning him the label of a "closet nerd"
20:16 ET, 24 Nov 2025Updated 20:20 ET, 24 Nov 2025
Christian McCaffrey sits in the 49ers locker room before facing the Rams
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Christian McCaffrey is considered a nerd amongst those who understand his chess habit
Christian McCaffrey has built his NFL reputation on the field through production that rarely dips when he is healthy, a workload that rarely slows down, and an all-around style that fits in any system.
But inside the 49ers facility, the frustration surrounding him has nothing to do with football. Especially as the running back attempts a second season with both 1,000 receiving and rushing yards.
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Teammates expected the All-Pro running back to dominate in only carries, touches, and yards. What they did not envision and now openly complain about is being outclassed at every word puzzle, anagram sheet, and mental game by McCaffrey, which the team passes around during travel weeks.
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The running back who has dealt with an injury-ridden past already leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage, has become the roster's unofficial problem-solver, and the reaction from the players suggests that it's simply annoying.
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The wordplay habit surfaced recently when teammates explained that McCaffrey finishes anagrams before most of them start. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk told The Athletic, "It's annoying because he's pretty effing good." All-Pro tight end George Kittle added, "It's not even fun."
Second-year guard Dominick Puni called him "one of those guys who's good at everything." Outside of word games, McCaffrey reportedly also recently crossed the 1000-rating mark on chess.com.
Christian McCaffrey runs with the ball against the New York Giants
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McCaffrey is also good at Chess and anagrams
McCaffrey's mother, Lisa, said all of her sons were in the chess club in elementary school and described the family as "closet nerds," including their father, Ed.
She said people assume football players spend their free time projecting a particular image, but explained that her sons have always gravitated toward strategy games, logic puzzles, and quieter competitions.
McCaffrey said chess mirrors the discipline of life and football, pointing to elements such as sacrifice, anticipation, protection, and long-term strategy that connect across both. His numbers on the field have been just as sharp as his mind before playing chess.
Christian McCaffrey breaks for a run against the Rams
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McCaffrey leads the 49ers in TDs
The 49ers RB leads the NFL with 1,439 yards from scrimmage and has scored 11 touchdowns, more than double that of Kittle, who ranks second on the team with five. He is pacing toward another thousand-yard rushing season with 707 yards and six rushing touchdowns despite defenses game-planning around him every week.
The 49ers are 7-4 and sit third in the NFC West behind the 9-2 Rams and the surging, passionate Seahawks, placing more weight on every game going forward as the playoff picture begins to tighten.
Christian McCaffrey surveys the field prior to the Rams game
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McCaffrey will face the Panthers, his former team, for the first time in Week 12
The stakes rise again this week when McCaffrey faces the Carolina Panthers for the first time; the franchise that drafted him eighth overall in 2017 and featured him for six seasons before trading him to San Francisco in 2022.
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McCaffrey gained 3,980 rushing yards and scored 50 touchdowns during his time with Carolina. The trade that sent him to San Francisco included a second-round pick in 2023, a third-round pick in 2023, a fourth-round pick in 2023, and a fifth-round pick in 2024, resulting in a series of assets that have since been traded for multiple picks used by the Bears and Giants.