Subscribe
Follow Us
Carolina Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey, who recently signed a four-year, $64 million extension, claimed it’s “asinine” to say running backs don’t matter.
During a recent appearance on 610 Sports Radio, McCaffrey responded to the critics who say running backs don’t matter much in the NFL.
“That’s an asinine statement,” McCaffrey said on Thursday. “When you look around the league and you look at what the running back position has meant to certain teams, I don’t know when that narrative started happening. It used to be the running back and quarterback position were the highest-tiered guys on the field. I look at guys that I looked up to, guys like Emmitt Smith, guys like LaDainian Tomlinson. Emmitt Smith, he played 12-plus years. These guys played long [careers] and were at the forefront of being the team’s most important player. So you look at what guys like Derrick Henry did in the [Titans’] playoff run.
“I don’t know when that narrative started happening. You see it so much now, and you look at some of the most explosive players in the league, and they are running backs. So to me, I just think it’s not a very educated statement.”
It's quite absurd to say running backs don't matter much in the NFL. This past season, McCaffrey took the league by storm by breaking multiple NFL records. The 23-year-old became only the third player in NFL history to have over 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.
Additionally, he broke the running back record for the most receptions in a single season, Due to these spectacular performances, the Panthers made him the highest-paid running back in NFL History.
