Through the first five weeks of the season, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was a candidate for the NFL MVP award. He vaulted toward the top of MVP talk briefly, especially after his four-touchdown game versus the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.

The MVP conversation has now primarily involved quarterbacks, with Dak Prescott and Jalen Hurts currently leading the odds. However, coach Kyle Shanahan still believes McCaffrey is an MVP candidate.

“I think, yeah, without a doubt. I know it goes to quarterbacks the majority of the time, and there's plenty of worthy quarterbacks, but I can't say that Christian's behind anyone. I mean, he's as valuable in this league as anyone,” via David Bonilla of 49ers Web zone.

Kyle Shanahan makes a great case. Few players are more valuable to their team's success than McCaffrey. With McCaffrey, the 49ers offense is practically unstoppable at times. Even Shanahan has joked that he doesn't want to imagine life without the All-Pro running back.

Through 11 games, Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL in rushing with 939 yards, over 150 more than the next leading ball carrier. He is second in the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 11 and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He has a touchdown in all but two games this year, and tied the NFL record for most consecutive games with a touchdown. On top of that, McCaffrey has 48 receptions for 389 yards and five touchdowns, putting him on pace for over 2,000 total scrimmage yards.

It's unlikely McCaffrey will win the NFL MVP given the quarterback favoritism and performance of Tyreek Hill, but if he goes for 2,000 scrimmage yards and 20 total touchdowns, he should receive heavy consideration.