By: Jeremy Trottier

What better time to write a potential Hall of Fame piece than just after Christian McCaffrey just put together the first triple crown (1 rushing TD, 1 receiving TD, 1 passing TD) since 2005?  There is no better time.  In this article I will be discussing the career of premier back Christian McCaffrey, and if his career trajectory could be one that could be enshrined in Canton, Ohio someday in the future.  So without further ado, let’s get right into it. 

Stats & Accolades

Let me put something into perspective quickly.   Hall of Fame running back Gale Sayers, one of the best to ever do it no doubt, had 4,956 rushing yards, 1,307 receiving yards, 9 receiving touchdowns, and 39 rushing touchdowns in 7 seasons (65 games started, 68 played).  CMC has 4,112 rushing yards, 3,371 receiving yards, 19 receiving touchdowns, and 33 rushing touchdowns in 5 ½ seasons (59 games started, 66 played).  We talk about how injured McCaffrey is, and yet through 6 seasons he will likely play more games and start more games than Sayers, and if he can really take off these last 8 games, he could even surpass Sayers in rushing yards and touchdowns.  Keep in mind this is on similar efficiency as well, with Sayers having 5.0 YPC and CMC having 4.6 YPC behind what is one of the worst offensive lines of our generation. 

McCaffrey is also a 1-time pro bowler and a 1-time first-team all-pro, and frankly one of the most impressive halfbacks in recent memory, even with the injuries. 

So is he on a HOF trajectory?

Projecting a Hall of Fame career when the player is 26 years old is difficult, as this player still is just entering their prime years, and we saw that this past weekend with McCaffrey.  Comparing him to Gale is just for effect, as I left out the fact that Sayers won CBPOY, OROY, 5 first-team all-pro selections, 4 pro bowls, 2x rushing leader, 1x scoring leader, and a Bears legend.  However, with CMC now on a competent franchise, seemingly healthy, and with a run-heavy coach who knows how to get backs production?  As well as a potential Super Bowl window?  There is potential here for CMC to get his name back into the elite status and really cement himself with some hardware.  We will see where his career takes him, but he is on the right track for now. 

The post Is Christian McCaffrey a future Hall of Famer? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The 2017 NFL Draft class brought one of the most potently talented running back groups to the NFL, and honestly it may be the best ever with the way things have developed.  Just to list the primary ones, we have:

• Christian McCaffrey
• Alvin Kamara
• Dalvin Cook
• Joe Mixon
• Aaron Jones
• Chris Carson
• Kareem Hunt
• Austin Ekeler
• Leonard Fournette
• James Conner
• Tarik Cohen

The list continues on for a while after that too, like Marlon Mack, Wayne Gallman, Matt Breida, and Corey Clement.  However in this article we will only be looking at two of these backs for comparison, Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints and Christian McCaffrey of the Carolina Panthers.  

The primary focus of this piece will to be delve into these two players, and their ability to create an elusiveness of sorts on the field.  They both do it in different ways, hence why it will be broken into two different sections, one for each player.

Alvin Kamara ”“ New Orleans Saints

Alvin Kamara’s elusiveness is all about being “slippery” per say, using his core strength and center of balance to break off tackles and keep them away from the ball.  His extremely high level of balance is another key factor, as it allows him to take defenders and pull them off just by running, shedding them is likely the best word for it. 

As you can see, his core balance and ability to plant himself allows him to stop and let the defender slide before running the opposite direction to pull him off.  These types of plays have been pretty consistent throughout Kamara’s career, which is why he is so elusive.  If you cannot keep your hands on him long enough to make a tackle, then its practically like not being able to touch him at all.  His elusiveness is purely based on being able to get tacklers off him without exerting too much force, this allows him to break off huge chunks of yards at a time even after contact.

Christian McCaffrey ”“ Carolina Panthers

The elusiveness of Christian McCaffrey is a little more subtle, however relatively in the same ballpark of effectiveness.  Where Kamara lacks in stutter steps and juke moves, McCaffrey dominates in them.  Since CMC is heavily targeted in screen passes, his ability to avoid contact all together is his strength.  

This is kind of why he has injury issues however, as when he does take heavy contact he may be forced to break stride, which can cause him to get hurt trying to force something that is not there.  However it prevents the direct contact injuries that someone like Derrick Henry may get just from blunt force of defenders being taken on.  

Conclusion

To date, both of these backs are considered to be some of the best in the league undoubtedly.  With that said, Alvin Kamara has only missed four full games in his career so far, compared to Christian McCaffrey missing 13 (all last year, however).  Both of these players have their own strengths and are probably two of the top elusiveness-based backs to grace the field.  Banking on the fact that Kamara has had fewer injuries, or at least less severe ones, his elusiveness prevails as he is able to take on contact and prevent any issues from arising.

The post Is Christian McCaffrey or Alvin Kamara more elusive? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By Calvin K (Twitter: @Calvin_SGF)

There’s no doubt at this point that the NFL has become a pass-first league, and quarterbacks are now more important to a team’s success than they’ve ever been. Anyone can see this evidently when looking at the historical winners of the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award.

The last 14 recipients of the award have all been quarterbacks, and given what this article opened with, it might seem strange to argue for a player from another position to win. However, considering Christian McCaffrey’s talent, it’s not a stretch to say he could be a candidate. This article is not, by any stretch, trying to argue that McCaffrey is the MVP favorite, however, it should convince you that he is a better candidate than any sleeper QB. Here are three reasons why.

McCaffrey’s numbers are historically good

This is the first and most obvious case to be considered when evaluating CMC’s MVP case. Due to injuries, the superstar RB was only on the field for three games last year, but in 2019, his numbers were absolutely mind-boggling.

In 2019, McCaffrey was absolutely dominant. His 1,387 rushing yards along with 1,005 receiving yards made him just the third player to have a 1,000-1,000 season, and he is in elite company, as Marshall Faulk and Roger Craig are the only ones to ever accomplish the feat. McCaffrey’s 2,392 scrimmage yards that year were good for the third-most in a season all-time, behind only Chris Johnson and the aforementioned Faulk.

The “last 14 MVPs have all been QBs” statement is usually a strong argument against a player from another position, however, McCaffrey’s numbers alone mean he warrants special consideration. He received just that in 2019, finishing third in offensive player of the year voting, and there’s reason to believe that he could be higher in 2021 if there isn’t a dominant Lamar Jackson/Michael Thomas this time around.

There is precedent for choosing RBs as MVPs

QBs have dominated the MVP race as of late, but if a quarterback doesn’t win, the winner has been likely to be a running back. In fact, running backs has been the only other offensive position in the league’s history to have a player receive the award. Yes, you read that correctly.

Any running back who wants to be considered must be historically good, but we’ve already established that McCaffrey fits that description. In fact, McCaffrey’s numbers are arguably better than any RB MVP we’ve ever had.

McCaffrey’s season had more scrimmage yards than any RB MVP year (Faulk and Johnson didn’t win MVP in their biggest years), and while he did score significantly less touchdowns than most, he still deserves to be looked at in a positive light. The lack of touchdowns isn’t as concerning, essentially because the game has changed to where offenses are almost always pass-first in the red zone. If you eliminate that concern, McCaffrey beats almost anyone in stats. Add that to the fact that he’d probably still be good as a pure WR in the NFL, and you’ve got the full package for a potential darkhorse run.

The QB candidates have their concerns

Like mentioned before, McCaffrey is not the favorite to win MVP, and a player like Patrick Mahomes will certainly have much higher betting odds, as he should. However, Mahomes and the other QBs do have concerns that could limit their MVP cases.

Mahomes is a fantastic player, but he had a historically lucky campaign in one category: interceptions. Mahomes had a whopping 16 dropped picks in 2020 alone, which begs the question: if a few had gone the other way, how good would his season have looked? Josh Allen, another candidate, seems to have hit his ceiling, and most experts agree that it’s doubtful that he gets much better than last year. Russell Wilson struggled with turnovers last year, and with Seattle shifting more towards a run-first offense again, he might not get the opportunity to compete. Lamar Jackson was figured out by stingy defenses last year, Dak Prescott doesn’t have a huge sample size, Aaron Rodgers is getting older, Kyler Murray was hurt, and when Murray was healthy, he didn’t show an absolutely massive ceiling for the most part.

Why McCaffrey could win

The previous paragraph was undoubtedly chock-full of cherry-picked narratives, but it’s not to say that all, or many of those are true/or will most likely come true. However, it is beneficial and interesting to make a point about darkhorse picks. A darkhorse pick is never one that someone expects, and usually, they have to get some breaks to truly be in the race for #1. As established, McCaffrey is a very talented player, and he should be fully recovered from his injuries in time for 2021. If he regains his old form, he probably still isn’t likely to win MVP in place of a QB, however, with a few breaks, it’s definitely possible, which is why his darkhorse argument is very convincing.

The post Christian McCaffrey NOT a QB Is the Ultimate Darkhorse To Win MVP appeared first on Pro Football Mania.