A lot of people grew concerned about Christian McCaffrey's workload last season. After cutting C.J. Anderson, the Carolina Panthers began using him as a true workhorse back. He received an eye-popping amount of touches, and was the focal point of the offense the entire season.
Many observers were worried the Panthers would run him into the ground, but don't tell that to McCaffrey.
“I played in every game last year, felt great,” McCaffrey said, via David Newton of ESPN.com. “I can do it again. I feel I can do it over the next many years. … I would definitely like the ball as much as possible. … That's why I train.”
All told, McCaffrey carried the ball 219 times last season and caught another 107 passes. The offense ran through him, both on the ground and through the air. While the volume was great for fantasy owners, it also put a ton of tread on his tires.
McCaffrey doesn't turn 23 until June, so there's nothing to worry about right now, but it could impact how he ages down the line. McCaffrey played 91.3 percent of the offensive snaps last season, which is an absurd figure.
He was partially splitting time with Anderson the first couple of weeks, but then the Panthers decided they couldn't wait any longer to unleash him. They now might be regretting going quite that far, as even head coach Ron Rivera has acknowledged that'll need to change. Rivera recently said the team would be more concerned about McCaffrey's workload moving forward.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, they don't have much at running back behind him. As such, it wouldn't be surprising to see Carolina invest a draft pick on a running back in a couple of weeks.
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