49ers’ New RB Split Could Be Great News for Christian McCaffrey

Finally.

REUTERS

One of the big storylines emerging from the San Francisco 49ers' 27-7 Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Rams was how much rookie running back Kaelon Black ate into the workload of All-Pro Christian McCaffrey. 

Black had 14 rushes to McCaffrey’s 10, so the early thought is that this could be more of a split than many realized. Still, the addition of Black could actually unlock a more efficient McCaffrey, who is even more valuable for the 49ers. 

San Francisco 49ers Split Could Lead to Better Christian McCaffrey

McCaffrey had 68 yards on those ten carries, averaging 6.8 yards per attempt. McCaffrey averaged 3.9 yards per attempt last year, and his season high was 6.2 yards per attempt. He only went over six yards per attempt in a game twice and has not hit the total he did in Week 1 since Week 13 of 2024. 

Black was taking more of the between-the-tackle and power rushes than McCaffrey. He had four gap runs to one of McCaffrey, per PFF. So, it allowed the team to only have McCaffrey do what he does best. 

Beyond that, it is allowing the team to utilize McCaffrey more in the passing game. Despite Black having more carries, McCaffrey had 36 snaps to 28 for the rookie. 

The difference is that McCaffrey ran 23 routes while Black ran just 12. McCaffrey had eight targets while Black had just one. The veteran had 0.91 yards per route run, and the rookie had 0.42. 

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McCaffrey was still the more valuable offensive weapon. So, the team is using Black to take the dirty work away from McCaffrey. He can close out the games and run between the tackles and get the tough yards. 

Meanwhile, McCaffrey can get to the outside with fresher legs, and the team can utilize him as their top pass catcher. The emergence of Black can be concerning for the potential ceiling of McCaffrey, especially when it comes to fantasy football. 

We will see what the split looks like when the 49ers are trailing, and the team gets into a pass-centric script. We could see McCaffrey dominate the snap share again. 

So, the split could end up leading to him being nearly as productive on a fraction of the touches. That is a win for McCaffrey, the 49ers, and fantasy football managers.