Tag: McCaffrey PFF

PFF: Christian McCaffrey still best receiving running back in the NFL

We can debate who the best of them is, but there’s no denying that when it comes to catching the ball Christian McCaffrey is at the top of the list.

The NFL is loaded with some incredible talents at the running back position. Derrick Henry has surpassed Marshawn Lynch as the game’s greatest power back, Nick Chubb is enjoying a meteoric rise and studs like Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook and Saquon Barkley remain some of the most dynamic offensive players in football.

We can debate who the best of them is, but there’s no denying that when it comes to catching the ball Christian McCaffrey is at the top of the list. Pro Football Focus has named the Panthers’ star the best receiving back in the league, and they brought some stats to prove it.

“Since 2018, he leads the NFL in yards after the catch (1,983) and has just a 2.6% career drop rate — the lowest among running backs with 100 targets since 2017.”

McCaffrey should still have many years of quality football left in him. Before he’s done he might be known as the best receiver to ever play his position. It’s certainly tough to think of another back capable of this.

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Christian McCaffrey makes PFF’s list of the NFL’s 50 best players in 2021

McCaffrey is more than just a divisional stud though – he’s among the most talented players in football.

It’s the slowest time of the year for NFL news, which means it’s ranking season. Yesterday, we shared a list of the top seven running backs in the NFC South, with Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffrey just barely edging out Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints for the top spot. McCaffrey is more than just a divisional stud though – he’s among the most talented players in football.

Even though he missed most of the 2020 season with injuries, Pro Football Focus still thinks he’s a top-50 player in the league. They’re unveiling the list this week and McCaffrey came in at No. 30.

“McCaffrey has dropped just nine of the 388 targets sent his way in the NFL (2.7% of catchable targets) and averaged 2.6 yards after contact per carry. With an improved scheme and talent group around him, the Panthers’ fanbase can rightly hope for a big bounce-back season from their star back.”

At this point, no reasonable fan doubts No. 22’s ability. The question will be if the Panthers can keep him healthy. McCaffrey may only be 25 years old, but he’s already totaled over 1,000 touches in his pro career. That’s after carrying a heavy workload during his last two seasons at Stanford.

After signing a four-year, $64 million extension last April, McCaffrey is under contract through the 2025 season.

Keeping McCaffrey fresh for that marathon may require changing up how he’s used a bit – and there’s some be reason to believe we’ll see that, despite what offensive coordinator Joe Brady says about not lightening CMC’s load.

The team’s interest in Seahawks running back Chris Carson in free agency could be a clue Carolina is planning to ease back the amount of punishment McCaffrey takes. The addition of rookie Chuba Hubbard in the fourth round of the draft gives the staff another option, at least.

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PFF: Christian McCaffrey ranks No. 13 at RB in elusiveness

PFF has released a ranking of each of the league’s 32 starting running backs based on elusiveness and McCaffrey came in at No. 13. 

Christian McCaffrey is the top overall running back in football right now, hands down. There are many different ways to evaluate the position, though. While it might seem like McCaffrey is one of the NFL’s most elusive running backs, according to Pro Football Focus he’s actually only a little bit better than average in this area.

PFF has released a ranking of each of the league’s 32 starting running backs based on elusiveness and McCaffrey came in at No. 13.

“McCaffrey’s middle-of-the-road missed tackles forced per touch (0.19) and yards after contact per rush (2.6) numbers from the 2019 season stem partially from just how much volume he had to shoulder on the Panthers’ offense. Then again, it’s OK to recognize that he wins in different areas — ability to get open as a receiver, vision, speed, burst, durability, etc. — rather than being among the league’s best at breaking away from defenders in the open field.”

Fair enough. It is interesting to see that players like Chris Carson and Derrick Henry – generally perceived to be old-school power backs – actually rank ahead of McCaffrey in this category.

In any case, McCaffrey’s true value that puts him ahead of the competition are his abilities as a receiver. Given Teddy Bridgewater’s well-documented preference for targeting shorter routes, we should expect no dropoff in McCaffrey’s production as a pass-catcher. In fact, it might even improve considering Bridgewater’s accuracy compared to Kyle Allen.

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Pro Football Focus: Christian McCaffrey is the highest graded Panthers player in 2019

Christian McCaffrey is making a compelling case to prove them wrong this year. 

Some people will tell you that running backs don’t matter. They’re the most replaceable players on the roster and it’s not worth using a first-round draft pick on them, no matter who it is. Christian McCaffrey is making a compelling case to prove them wrong this year.

Coming into Week 11, McCaffrey ranks second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage – Dalvin Cook has 30 more yards and one more game played. He’s been by far the most valuable piece for the Panthers this season. Without McCaffrey’s contributions, Carolina’s offense would be effectively useless and the team’s record would certainly be much worse than 5-4.

It’s not just that McCaffrey is putting up high usage numbers – he’s playing at an extremely high level. Pro Football Focus has McCaffrey as the highest-graded Panthers player (89.3) this season.

“McCaffrey has been borderline superhuman this season. Yes, Jacobs has a higher overall grade than the Panthers back, but McCaffrey has played over 250 more offensive snaps than Jacobs in Weeks 1-10. McCaffrey has also earned an elite 92.1 receiving grade so far this season, which ranks second among qualifying backs.”

Unfortunately, it’s pretty much a one-man show for the Panthers offense. The next-highest graded player is second-year wide receiver D.J. Moore, who comes in 10 points lower than McCaffrey at 79.4. Then, there’s another significant drop down to tight end Greg Olsen, who has a 69.4 overall grade.

On defense, there’s no outlier like McCaffrey. Despite what’s been an off season by his standards, inside linebacker Luke Kuechly has the top PFF grade at 81.3. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is next at 79.0. First-round pick Brian Burns started the year off hot but a wrist injury has slowed him down lately and his grade has fallen to 59.2.

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