Kyle Shanahan is Happy with How the 49ers are Using Christian McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey led the NFL in touches through five games, and now he's injured with an oblique strain. Coincidence?

McCaffrey is not a big running back -- he looks more like a change-of-pace back, although he's much better than that. But it would seem smart to use him in a rotation and pace him for the playoffs.

Kyle Shanahan disagrees.

"I mean, we treat him as our starting running back," Shanahan explained on Thursday. "So, I don't really think of how many touches we want to get somebody in a year, that's week-to-week and how the game goes. But, he gets a lot more extra because he gets thrown to so much in the passing game. I'm happy with how he's being used. I'm happy with how he's been playing, and we'll see how the rest of the year goes."

Shanahan thinks he's slick. He implied that McCaffrey has so many touches because he catches lots of passes. But he also ranks second in the NFL in carries with 110, while the leader, Travis Etienne, has 113.

Be honest, Kyle. You give McCaffrey the ball so much because you trust him so much.

"It's real easy to put a lot on his plate," said Shanahan. "Move him around each week. I think just the example he sets for everybody and the guy is, I mean, he reminds me of just a basic mentality, like a walk-on guy, who's just trying to get people's attention for working so hard. He is one of the most talented guys in the league and was in college coming out and every single play it's like the biggest thing in the world, whether he is getting the ball or not. It's a really great example of how to be as a football player."

You can tell Shanahan adores McCaffrey. It would be nice if Shanahan protected him sometimes, too.