{"id":770990,"date":"2026-02-23T12:20:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/770990\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T12:20:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:20:43","slug":"the-49ers-must-race-to-find-christian-mccaffrey-help-before-its-too-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/770990\/","title":{"rendered":"The 49ers must race to find Christian McCaffrey help before it\u2019s too late"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the <\/a>Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the \u201cSection 415″ podcast <\/a>wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most complex statistical challenge exiting the 2025 season is parsing Christian McCaffrey\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

Despite preseason pearl-clutching from outsiders regarding his health, McCaffrey didn\u2019t miss a game and amassed a career-high 413 touches. He racked up more than 1,000 rushing yards and more than 100 catches. When it comes to sheer volume, this was a performance for the ages.<\/p>\n

But it was not a particularly efficient season for the superstar. McCaffrey managed just 3.9 yards per carry, the worst output since his rookie season, And the fact that he was by far the 49ers\u2019 leading receiver wasn\u2019t necessarily a good thing, considering the offense suffered a prodigious drop in passing explosiveness<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two things can be true at once: McCaffrey saved the 49ers\u2019 season amid roster decimation, but their dependence on him was too great to take it the distance. A historically good Seahawks defense smothered the 49ers\u2019 limited attack twice over their final three games.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For context, McCaffrey\u2019s 2.75 yards after contact per attempt ranked No. 25 of 28 qualifying backs. While backup Brian Robinson Jr. didn\u2019t have enough carries to qualify, he would\u2019ve ranked No. 19. (In 2023, when the 49ers\u2019 offense was historically good, McCaffrey ranked No. 4 at 3.35 yards after contact per attempt.)<\/p>\n

Pro Football Focus\u2019 measure of elusive rating, which uses a more complex formula to measure a back\u2019s rushing efficiency, had McCaffrey at No. 26 and Robinson at No. 10. (In 2023, McCaffrey ranked No. 8.) <\/p>\n

McCaffrey turns 30 this offseason, so the knee-jerk conclusion here is that age might be catching up to him \u2014\u00a0especially after bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a subsequent PCL tear limited him to just four games in 2024.<\/p>\n

2 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

5 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday, Feb. 13<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

But that would be overly simplistic \u2014\u00a0and likely incorrect \u2014 analysis. <\/p>\n

Just take McCaffrey\u2019s most statistically celebrated season, which came in 2019 when he became just the third player in NFL history to exceed 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards. In that season, McCaffrey averaged even fewer yards after contact per attempt \u2014 2.62 \u2014\u00a0than he did in 2025. He also ranked near the bottom of the league in elusive rating. <\/p>\n

Of course, no one would argue that McCaffrey was past his prime in 2019. He was just 23 then. <\/p>\n

It would, however, be fair to say that McCaffrey was operating within the context of a severely limited offense in 2019. His Panthers ranked No. 28 in expected points added (EPA) per play.<\/p>\n

This is a reminder that it\u2019s impossible to disentangle individual production from team performance \u2014\u00a0and especially at a position as blocking- and space-dependent as running back. Even statistics designed to isolate a back\u2019s performance are massively dependent on the situation around him. It\u2019s a lot easier to break tackles when would-be tacklers are more occupied trying to cover other offensive threats.<\/p>\n

The 2025 49ers\u2019 offense, which finished No. 6 in EPA per play, was obviously better than the Carolina attack from 2019. But given the 49ers\u2019 anemic finishes this season<\/a> in the explosiveness and space-making departments, it\u2019s fair to say that their offensive production far exceeded their level of available weaponry.<\/p>\n

Coach Kyle Shanahan deserves huge credit for that. So do both of the 49ers\u2019 quarterbacks, Brock Purdy and Mac Jones. And so does the most-used weapon, McCaffrey, who pushed his body to the limit to keep the 49ers churning \u2014\u00a0even with defenses keying on him more intently than at any point of his 49ers tenure. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s most evident in the level of receiving efficiency that McCaffrey was able to sustain despite all the defensive attention.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For comparison, Robinson \u2014\u00a0a pending free agent \u2014\u00a0averaged just 0.36 yards per route run, third-worst of running backs with at least 10 targets. One of the two backs ranked beneath him was former 49er Jordan Mason, who managed only 0.32 yards per route run with the Minnesota Vikings. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that the 49ers couldn\u2019t afford to take McCaffrey off the field because their passing game, already down so many capable receivers, would crater without him. <\/p>\n

The optimal path forward involves pairing McCaffrey with a bona fide receiving threat. Pittsburgh\u2019s Kenneth Gainwell and the New York Jets\u2019 Breece Hall, both of whom made the YPRR leaderboard above, are both scheduled to be free agents next month. Kenneth Walker III, who won Super Bowl MVP at Levi\u2019s Stadium, might also become available because Seattle likely won\u2019t slap the franchise tag on him.<\/p>\n

Is it time for the 49ers to go all-in on offense, spending be damned? Fans might prefer that route to, say, drafting another running back in the third round. None of those experiments have worked and McCaffrey is still waiting for a credible counter-threat. <\/p>\n

Isaac Guerendo, who\u2019s endured some ball security issues, is still on the team. So is Jordan James, who enters his second season as a back with adaptable potential.<\/p>\n

But unless the 49ers are sure one of those players can reliably move the needle in 2026, they can\u2019t wait around forever. McCaffrey\u2019s 30th birthday is a looming reminder of that. So is the fact that he\u2019s only under contract with the team for two more seasons. That means 2026 almost certainly marks a defining inflection point. <\/p>\n

History tells us that McCaffrey\u2019s versatility can be the lynchpin that pushes a properly stocked offense over the top. His jaw-dropping volume of production in 2025 indicates that there\u2019s still gas left in the tank. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Get the man some proper help \u2014\u00a0both in the backfield and on the perimeter \u2014\u00a0before it\u2019s too late. And stay healthy. Outside of McCaffrey, the 49ers didn\u2019t do that in 2025. As a result, his mighty contributions stabilized the offense, but they couldn\u2019t propel it to title-winning heights. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":770991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,7,2812,6,1161,252,2624,2623,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-770990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-kyle-shanahan","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","14":"tag-sanfrancisco","15":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116119918349307966","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}