What to Expect from Christian McCaffrey in 2021
The Carolina Panthers should see a major boost in the backfield this season with the return of a healthy Christian McCaffrey.
As you know, McCaffrey missed a total of 13 games last season due to ankle, shoulder, and thigh injuries. Some believed the injuries were due to the beating that his body has taken throughout the course of his career dating back to his college days at Stanford.
From Stanford to his time here in Carolina, McCaffrey has been a workhorse back that gives his team the flexibility to use him in a variety of ways. Since taking over as the team's full-time starter, McCaffrey's usage percentage has been extremely high. He has been in on nearly 90% of the team's offensive snaps in games that he has appeared in. Obviously, that's a high number, and getting an average of 25 touches per game is something offensive coordinator Joe Brady and head coach Matt Rhule will want to keep an eye on. By drafting Chuba Hubbard in the 4th round of the 2021 NFL Draft, it should lessen the load on McCaffrey's shoulders. Then again, if he is back to 100% and remains fully healthy, it's going to be hard to not want to give him the ball 25 times per game. He's so dynamic with the ball in his hands and makes the offense so much better.
Not only do I believe the Panthers added talent at the skill positions in free agency and the draft for new quarterback Sam Darnold but I also think it was to give them more options so that everything doesn't have to go through McCaffrey. There is only one ball and if you have four to five playmakers in addition to McCaffrey, those touches will start to naturally come down which means McCaffrey will have a better chance of staying healthy and will be more efficient.
Can he go for 1,000 yards receiving and rushing again in 2021? That's quite a tough feat to accomplish once let alone to repeat it two years later. That type of season has only been done twice prior to McCaffrey doing it in 2019. Even with an additional game in the regular season, it's a pretty high bar to set. If all goes well and McCaffrey plays in all 17 games, I'd say expecting 1,200-1,400 yards rushing and 400-600 yards receiving is a very realistic goal that he can reach.
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