San Francisco 49ers Among Teams Interested In Carolina Panthers Star Christian McCaffrey

The Carolina Panthers are reportedly entertaining trade offers for All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise with Carolina headed into a full-scale rebuild following the firing of head coach Matt Rhule.

I previously focused on the pros and cons of the San Francisco 49ers getting involved in trade talks for the star running back.

That seemed to be a precursor to a report from Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, who indicates that San Francisco is among the teams interested in McCaffrey. They are reportedly joined by two AFC squads and the division-rival Los Angeles Rams in pursuit of McCaffrey.

“And while teams are calling about Christian McCaffrey, the Panthers have not engaged in any serious trade talks. Carolina isn’t just going to give away one of the league’s best weapons when healthy,” CBS Sports report on McCaffrey trade interest. “The Broncos, 49ers, Rams and Bills are among the teams that have shown varying degrees of interest in McCaffrey.”

The connection here is real in that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has a built-in relationship with McCaffrey dating back to the days of his father, Mike, coaching McCaffrey’s dad with the Denver Broncos.

From an on-field perspective, acquiring someone of McCaffrey’s skill-set would be a major boon for the 49ers. They have dealt with a plethora of injuries at the running back position and are void of that dual-threat out of the backfield. Though, there’s other factors in play here.

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Christian McCaffrey As A Fit For the San Francisco 49ers

Jeff Wilson is enjoying RB1 duties for San Francisco with 2021 late-round pick Elijah Mitchell sidelined to injury. While Wilson continues to perform well, he’s not much of a threat to catch passes out of the backfield.

Since entering the NFL as a top-10 pick of the Panthers back in 2017, McCaffrey has caught 383 passes in 63 games (6.1 catches per game).

Prior to injury-plagued 2020 and 2021 seasons, McCaffrey was the single-most electric running back in the NFL. In the two years prior, the former Stanford star accumulated 4,357 total yards and 32 touchdowns at a clip of 6.0 yards per touch. He also caught a resounding 223 passes while boasting an 83.8% catch rate.

Adding McCaffrey to a skill-position grouping that includes fellow All-Pros such as Deebo Samuel and George Kittle would make Jimmy Garoppolo’s job so much easier at quarterback. It would also create a deep running back group once Mitchell returns from inury here soon.

Competition For Christian McCaffrey

The division-rival Los Angeles Rams have been among the most proactive teams on the trade block in recent years. They have acquired the likes of Matthew Stafford and Jalen Ramsey through that avenue.

Off to a sluggish start to the season, Los Angeles is in need of an upgrade at running back. It ranks dead last in the NFL in rushing and has youngster Cam Akers on the trade block. But much like San Francisco, these Rams are without their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They sent that to the Detroit Lions in the Stafford blockbuster.

The Buffalo Bills seem like a logical fit. MVP candidate Josh Allen once again leads the team in rushing after heading all Bills players in that category a season ago. Whether this is sustainable for a Super Bowl contender remains to be seen. In clear win-now mode, Buffalo is likely favored to land McCaffrey.

The Denver Broncos make less sense in that they’ve committed a record-breaking contract to newly-acquired quarterback Russell Wilson. Denver also lacks a ton of draft capital given what it yielded to acquire Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks in the first place.

What It Might Take For San Francisco 49ers To Get Involved

A recent report suggests that Carolina is demanding multiple first-round picks for McCaffrey. That’s not happening. Despite how dynamic he has been since joining the NFL, injuries have had a role in McCaffrey’s career. He missed a combined 23 games in 2020 and 2021. Add in McCaffrey’s bloated contract following the 2022 season, and it’s unlikely Carolina will receive more than one first-round pick.

The question for San Francisco is whether it should offer up a first-rounder in 2024 and change for McCaffrey. This would have the team without a first-round selection for three consecutive drafts.

Perhaps, Carolina bites if the 49ers offer up multiple second-round picks as part of a broader package. In reality, the market will dicate this.