Report: 49ers Acquiring Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey
They actually did it.
The San Francisco 49ers are acquiring former All Pro running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
In exchange for McCaffrey, the 49ers are sending a whopping four picks to the Panthers. Those picks are a 2023 second-round, third-round, and fourth-round pick. On top of that, they are trading away fifth-round pick in 2024.
Quite the slew of draft picks being surrendered to the Panthers for a running back who is injury prone and isn't close to his All Pro version. But the 49ers making this move was necessary and understandable. The offense of the 49ers has been severely lacking. Deebo Samuel isn't having nearly the same explosive runs as last year, the running back is steady but lacking, and the passing game has no threat out of the backfield.
That all changes now with the acquisition of McCaffrey. This is clearly a statement from the 49ers of "win now" for the 2022 season. I can't blame them for this move as they needed to bring in another player who can take the attention off of Samuel. Now, health with McCaffrey is definitely the huge concern here. And while he hasn't been close to his All Pro form, he has been performing very well this year considering the Panthers offense is mediocre at best.
With the 49ers, McCaffrey should flourish and be able to come close to his elite level. He'll take the heat off of Samuel, act as another playmaker that Jimmy Garoppolo can look to, and give the running game a more consistent explosive element. Even with Elijah Mitchell, as well as he ran last year, couldn't break off those huge touchdown runs.
McCaffrey can.
And that is what the 49ers are banking on. Given what is being reported, this trade was to bolster the entire offense AND keep McCaffrey away from the Rams who were in on him as well. Looking at it like that, the trade makes a ton of sense. The draft picks may be too much and an act of desperation, but only LOSING teams care so much for draft picks. That isn't who the 49ers are and they showed it with their acquisition of McCaffrey.
