When healthy, Christian McCaffrey has long been considered one of the most versatile and punishing offensive weapons in the NFL. His impact and tantalizing skill set was diminished during the early part of his career with the Carolina Panthers, but he has unlocked his full powers on the San Francisco 49ers.

Schematic guru and head coach Kyle Shanahan has used McCaffrey as a receiver and passer in addition to employing him out of the backfield. The result has been a dominant Niners team to go along with a tremendous individual showing. There have been MVP murmurs, which are extremely rare for a running back, but it is hard to argue against the former All-Pro's massive contributions.

His teammate Arik Armstead is of the same mind and put forth a strong proclamation. “I don’t think there’s another running back in the league that really can compete with Christian [McCaffrey] right now,” the veteran defensive lineman said on his podcast, Third And Long, via Tidal league. “I think he’s the best in the league.”

While no one doubts the 27-year-old's talent, he has always been lauded more for his supreme pass-catching ability than his rushing prowess. McCaffrey averages an impressive 4.7 yards per carry in his career but has never been pigeonholed as strictly an RB, dating back to his Stanford days.

There are other backs, however, like Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry who are clearly identified as pure runners and thus regularly lay claim to being the best at their position. But the former is sidelined with a brutal injury and the latter is finally on the decline it seems. That means No. 23 unquestionably occupies the running back throne, at least for the time being.

Despite an overall inefficient Week 5 effort versus the Dallas Cowboys (19 carries for 51 yards and a score), Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns. While Armstead might be bias, the numbers speak for themselves.