The San Francisco 49ers' trade for star running back Christian McCaffrey continues to look better and better. On Sunday, McCaffrey managed to pull off a surprising first under coach Kyle Shanahan.
During the Niners' Week 13 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, McCaffrey hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season. In doing so, he became “the first Niner to accomplish that since Kyle Shanahan arrived in 2017 and first Niner to do it at all since Frank Gore in 2014,” per ESPN's Nick Wagoner.
That statistic comes as a surprise. Shanahan famously employs an offensive system that makes stars out of unheralded running back prospects. However, the coach also has refused to rely on one player in anything resembling a workhorse back role. Instead, Shanahan has gone running back by committee since taking over as 49ers head coach.
McCaffrey a unicorn in SF
That changed once the franchise swung a trade for McCaffrey. He logged double-digit carries in nine of the 11 games he played for the 49ers following a 2022 mid-season trade from the Carolina Panthers.
In 2023, McCaffrey has taken on an even larger workload. Entering Week 13, he had already had four games of 20+ carries on the year, in addition to his work as a target in the passing game.
2023 marks the fourth time in his career that McCaffrey produced 1,000 rushing yards, after having done so in 2022 in a season split between the Panthers and 49ers.
Only two backs under Shanahan even hit the 900-yard mark before McCaffrey came along. Carlos Hyde rushed for 938 yards in 2017, with Elijah Mitchell topping that effort with a 963-yard season in 2021.
In 10 seasons as a 49er, Gore broke the 1,000-yard mark eight times.
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