Christian McCaffrey Ranks in NFL's Top 100 Players Despite Down Season

This is a controversial ranking.

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

This is a controversial ranking.

NFL.com is slowly revealing its annual list of the top 100 players in the league. And based on last season, Christian McCaffrey shouldn't qualify.

Where McCaffrey Stands

In 2024, McCaffrey played in just four games, scored zero touchdowns, never ran faster than 17 miles per hour according to NextGen Stats, and averaged a mere 4.0 yards per carry. It was the worst season of his career.

Now, he's 29, which is old for a running back. And he has touched the ball more than 2,000 times in his career, which is a big number. So, he is almost certainly past his prime.

And yet, NFL.com still ranks McCaffrey 71st in their top 100 list for 2025.

"McCaffrey’s 2024 campaign was riddled with injuries, but he appears on the Top 100 for the third consecutive year," writes NFL.com's Christian Gonzalez. "He began the season dealing with Achilles and calf injuries before making his season debut in Week 10. McCaffrey returned to his RB1 role, but he suffered a season-ending PCL injury in Week 13. McCaffrey is still a top RB when healthy and he’ll look forward to a bounce-back season in Year 9.

"The 2023 rushing leader played in just four games in 2024 due to injury, but in those games McCaffrey was productive. He rushed for 202 yards and had 146 yards receiving in Weeks 10-13, the only player in the NFL with at least 200 rushing yards and 140 receiving yards in that span."

This analysis is lacking context.

Yes, McCaffrey's 2024 was riddled with injuries, but he was fully healthy when he made his season debut in Week 10. He did not rush back from bilateral Achilles tendonitis. He made a precautionary trip to Germany before playing in his first game. And he still couldn't score a touchdown or run 18 miles an hour or stay healthy for more than a few weeks.

In addition, he really wasn't that productive last year. He was effective as a receiver, but not particularly good as a running back. Rushing for 202 yards in four games is well below his standard.

I understand why NFL.com wants to give McCaffrey the benefit of the doubt -- he was a great player. But he if has one more down season, I doubt he'll make this list next year when he's 30.