The Carolina Panthers are expected to activate Christian McCaffrey from the injured reserve list any day now and start him on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. While their chances against Kansas City are pretty bad either way, McCaffrey undeniably makes this Panthers team more dynamic and interesting to watch. He certainly has a fan in the most-talented QB in the NFL.
When he was asked about McCaffrey’s return yesterday by the media, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a lot of good things to say about No. 22’s game.
“I mean he’s a guy that can do it all. He can catch the ball just as well as he runs the ball and he runs the ball well, so he’s someone that can really be a mismatch for defenses. He can run the ball between the tackles, he can have the speed to win on the outside, and he can run routes just like a receiver. Talented guy, and I’m excited to get to watch him play.”
Mahomes has it right, of course. When healthy, McCaffrey is the best running back in football.
He has missed the Panthers’ last six games due to a high ankle sprain. In the 50 he played before that since being drafted, McCaffrey totaled 3,076 rushing yards and 28 touhdowns, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. He added 2,590 more yards and 15 touchdowns as a receiver.
It will be interesting to see is if offensive coordinator Joe Brady continues to use backup Mike Davis, who played exceptionally well in McCaffrey’s absence.
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