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49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is NFC West's Biggest X-Factor

Football is the ultimate team sport. But sometimes, one player can determine the outcome of an entire divisional race.
Grant Cohn|
Nov 10, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) catches the ball over Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Nov 10, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) catches the ball over Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Football is the ultimate team sport. But sometimes, one player can determine the outcome of an entire divisional race.

This year, that player is 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey. If he can stay healthy and play like he did in 2022 and 2023, the 49ers probably will win the NFC West. But, if he gets injured again or he's ineffective like he was in 2024, then the 49ers could finish dead last in the NFC West for the second season in a row.

That's why McCaffrey's workload and availability is the NFC West's biggest X-factor this year.

"Without McCaffrey for most of the previous season, Purdy posted decent numbers (3,864 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions), but the 49ers didn't field a dominant ground game, which is a staple in Shanahan's offense," writes Bleacher Report's Moe Moton.

"The coach insinuated that the 49ers could limit McCaffrey's workload following his injury-riddled year, but the team needs to find a healthy balance with him on the field in crucial stretches.

"The 49ers' 2025 outlook hinges on McCaffrey's availability and how many touches he can handle, given eight years of wear and tear on his body."

I'm guessing the 49ers intend to target McCaffrey frequently in the pass game -- at least five targets per game. But in the running game, they would be smart to limit his workload, particularly in the regular season which has become extremely long the past few years.

Expect second-year running back Isaac Guerendo to spell McCaffrey quite a bit this year.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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