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Is 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey on Verge of Major Bounce-Back Season?

Christian McCaffrey is coming off arguably the worst season of his career.
Grant Cohn|
Dec 1, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) is tackled by Buffalo Bills safety Taylor Rapp (9) and safety Damar Hamlin (3) in the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
Dec 1, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) is tackled by Buffalo Bills safety Taylor Rapp (9) and safety Damar Hamlin (3) in the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

Christian McCaffrey is coming off arguably the worst season of his career.

He played in only four games. And when he played, he was not effective as a runner, although he still made a positive impact as a receiver. Now, he's 29. What should the 49ers expect from him this year?

Apparently, they expect big things. They recently traded away his backup, Jordan Mason, and replaced him with rookie fifth-round pick Jordan James, who might not play much right away. It seems the 49ers just cleared the backfield so McCaffrey could carry it like he used to.

That's why Yahoo! Sports thinks McCaffrey is on the verge of a major bounce-back season.

"McCaffrey hit four-year lows in yards after contact per attempt and forced missed tackle rate," writes Yahoo! Sports Chris Allen. "Some might point to the injury, but that clip of him flying through Buffalo’s defensive front says otherwise. Let’s also remember the state of the 49ers’ offensive line last year.

"They ranked 24th in run-block win rate by season’s end, and their 1.3 adjusted yards before contact sat slightly above the league average. In other words, two things could be true at once. McCaffrey’s ailments sapped some of his burst, and San Francisco’s blocking had some issues."

The 49ers' offensive line certainly had some issues. Unfortunately, they lost Aaron Banks and Jaylon Moore this offseason and didn't replace either player with upgrades.

In addition, when McCaffrey "flew" through the Bills' defensive line that one time, he hit 17 miles per hour, which is fast, but he used to hit 20 miles per hour in games routinely before he had bilateral Achilles tendonitis. It's still unclear if he can hit those top speeds anymore. And it's equally unclear if he can stay healthy for a full season anymore.

Proceed with caution.

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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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