Christian McCaffrey is the Player to Root for on the 49ers

Why is Christian McCaffrey the one player all fans should root for on the San Francisco 49ers?

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

NFL.com writer Tom Blair recently listed one player to root for for every team in the NFC entering the 2025 season. His answer was a player that most are already rooting for in running back Christian McCaffrey. 

Why should NFL Nation be cheering for Christian McCaffrey?

Maybe 2024 was just a natural step-down from such a high workload, and he'll easily bounce back again, just as he did following a similar blip in production following his first 2,000-scrimmage-yard effort, in 2019 with the Panthers. Then again, he's 29 now, with that much more mileage on his legs. Knowing how time and age generally work, it would be great to get to watch at least one more mega-wattage McCaffrey campaign.

Tom Blair

It makes sense considering McCaffrey is a fan favorite coming off a down year. The fantasy football community is rooting for every player from every team when it comes to skill players, and everyone drafting McCaffrey high in their leagues is going to be rooting for him.

Beyond that, the article goes on to mention that only Walter Payton, LaDainian Tomlinson, Marshall Faulk, and Emmitt Smith have put together four separate years with over 1,800 scrimmage yards. One more season with 1,800 yards would put him in some glorified territory and put another stamp on a fantastic career. 

Also, if we learned anything last season, it is how much McCaffrey can transcend the Kyle Shanahan running attack. Shanahan can get production out of anyone, but his mind with McCaffrey’s versatility is fun for any NFL fan, not just 49ers fans. When you add in that he comes off as a likeable player from a football family who works hard and shows up when called up, that makes him quite easy to root for. 

Another easy choice would have been Ricky Pearsall. After surviving a robbery attempt and an up-and-down rookie season, he is now in line to replace Deebo Samuel. It would be a great story to see him thrive, and he would immediately become a fan favorite across the NFL-sphere.