:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71524210/maxresdefault_8.0.jpg)
Kawakami: Why the 49ers decided they had to get Christian McCaffrey (paywall)
“This has been brewing for at least a couple of days. This was so set in the 49ers’ minds that a few days ago, when I first started hearing about this possibility and checked with a team source, all the source said at first was: “I was waiting for you to ask about that.”
“This nets Kyle Shanahan arguably the league’s best running back, and someone who will level up the 49ers’ offense, especially given his value as a pass-catchers. It’s also a familiar face for Shanahan, who knows the McCaffrey family well from his time in Denver with Ed McCaffrey; Shanahan may or may not have babysat Christian McCaffrey as a kid.”
With Christian McCaffrey, 49ers beat Rams to the punch and steal their slogan (paywall)
His father coached McCaffrey’s father, Ed, with the Broncos. More than that, Ed McCaffrey was Shanahan’s favorite player growing up, the reason he played receiver and wore No. 87 at Duke and the University of Texas. The families were so close that Shanahan once was assigned to look after Ed McCaffrey’s kids, including Christian, although Shanahan suspects he might have shirked that duty.”
RB Christian McCaffrey likely to suit up for 49ers vs. Chiefs
“NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on Thursday reported McCaffrey is likely to go vs. Kansas City in red zone packages only.”
Christian McCaffrey Is a Perfect Fit for What the 49ers Already Do Well
“This is why the move is, ultimately, so exciting, and why it has awoken the schematic fanboy in all of us. It’s fair to argue that Samuel would not have been Deebo Samuel had he not been drafted by the 49ers. It’s fair to say the same about Kittle. Even before Thursday, we would have labeled the 49ers as having one of the best groupings of running backs, tight ends and wide receivers in the NFL, simply by virtue of how they have been used. We could also be fairly certain that they would not have been deployed the same way anywhere else in the NFL (now that Shanahan’s longtime running-game guru Mike McDaniel is in Miami, we can probably add the Dolphins to this list)...Imagine now saying that about McCaffrey, a player who, over his first three years in the NFL, logged almost 40 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns.”
Christian McCaffrey traded to 49ers: Biggest questions and what’s next
“The risk is obvious: McCaffrey has missed 23 games in the past two seasons, and he’s joining a team that is consistently snakebit by injury. And while the Niners have a couple of third-round compensatory picks, they’re essentially punting on the 2023 NFL draft. Adding young, cost-effective players is important for a team that has so much high-priced talent and is planning to pay defensive end Nick Bosa an enormous amount of money this offseason. But if McCaffrey, who is under contract through 2025, is healthy and on the field, he gives the 49ers one of the best groups of skill-position players in the league, and the loss of multiple Day 2 picks won’t sting much at all.”
“In the moments after the deal was first reported, 49ers players, including George Kittle and injured second-year quarterback Trey Lance, caught wind of the deal and reacted on Twitter.”
“There’s technology today, where you can put goggles on — it’s used in the Pac-12 right now, it’s used the Big 12, it’s used in a lot of places — in 30 seconds you put the goggles on, you do eye tracking,” Young said. “Your eyes are the window to the brain. And if you do the micro-movements of your eyes when they track the ball that moves around in the screen, you can know whether somebody has a brain injury. You know it. It’s not a question.”
Greg Cosell points out recent Patrick Mahomes trend that could benefit 49ers defense
“This will come across like a bold, controversial statement but it’s based purely on film,” Cosell told with Murph & Mac on Thursday. “We know Mahomes is great, that’s not the point, he’s great. But I watch tape of him and he’s at the point now where he almost moves out of habit and he’s very good when he moves as we know, but there’s a lot of times where he drops back, there’s no pressure, and he moves. “
Kurtenbach: Trading for Christian McCaffrey is crazy. But it might save the 49ers’ season (paywall)
“Because make no mistake about it: McCaffery can do it all. He’s a top-tier runner. He’s a top-tier receiver. He’s been marooned with a terrible Carolina team for years, but now he’ll be in Shanahan’s run-first offense, behind a line built to run block, with elite offensive weapons all around him...This is must-see TV. The Niners will have a tight end who can be a top-tier receiver or right tackle, a wide receiver who played running back last season, and now a running back who can be a No. 1 receiver.”
Loading comments...