Christian McCaffrey proves to 49ers and Rams that he is a difference-maker

Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams for the third time this season. The first came on October 3 at Levi’s Stadium. The second came 17 days later, on October 20, when the 49ers outbid their division rivals for running back Christian McCaffrey. The third came on Sunday when the 49ers used their new offensive weapon to dominate the Rams on their home turf (although, you couldn’t tell that by the sea of red in the stands) 31-14.

It was a three-team race for McCaffrey. But, really, it was between the 49ers and the Rams. The Buffalo Bills were reportedly less aggressive in pursuing the Pro Bowl and All-Pro running back. Buffalo never made an offer, feeling the price for McCaffrey was becoming too high. But they wanted to stay in the loop.

The Rams offered second- and third-round picks in 2023, fourth- and fifth-round picks in 2024, and running back Cam Akers to the Carolina Panthers for McCaffrey. That was the bar the 49ers needed to beat, so they topped the Rams, offering second-, third-, and fourth-round picks in 2023, and a fifth-rounder in 2024. The Panthers valued that fourth-rounder more than Akers and accepted.

“Nothing with us is ever just Go get him, because I’m not looking at it where we needed one player or anything like that,” head coach Kyle Shanahan told Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. “We really wanted him. We thought he could really help us, and we felt fortunate that we had an opportunity to get a player like that. But it had so much to do not just with this year but also next year. We wanted to make sure this was a decision that wasn’t just gonna help us now but we thought could be smart going forward. And so that’s what made us look into it, and we got pretty close.

“And then when you’re competing against your competition in your division, that’s stuff that maybe gets you a little bit over the hump—not only just us but also them a little bit.”

General manager John Lynch admitted that the Panthers never told the 49ers who they were bidding against. However, putting the pieces to the puzzle together, they had an idea it was the Rams.

“You certainly say, ‘OK, here’s our end point where we’re not going past that,'” Lynch said on KNBR last week while discussing the decision to trade so much draft capital for McCaffrey. “We really value Christian and what he can do for us. And I think it also speaks to a belief in this current team.”

Lynch, Shanahan, and the 49ers have often found running backs later in the draft or even as undrafted free agents. Those running backs have contributed too. Last year’s sixth-round pick, Elijah Mitchell, started 10 games last season and opened this season as the starter.

Why the change in philosophy, trading for a high-profile running back in 2022?

“With Christian, more than anything, it’s not just like adding a running back,” Shanahan said. “It’s adding a Pro Bowl offensive player. That’s how I see Deebo [Samuel]. I mean, Deebo’s definitely a receiver. But it’s what he does for our offense—whatever’s needed based off what other teams are doing. And I think Christian’s real comparable in that way. We have had some success with backs that aren’t real high draft picks or aren’t necessarily what people would vote as Pro Bowlers.

“But when you do get one of those backs, it’s a big difference. Christian just has a way of doing that, not just running-wise but just all ways. When you can do that in all those different types of ways, you don’t have to force things to him. You kind of let the offense come a little naturally to him, to the quarterback, and that takes pressure off everyone.”

McCaffrey scores a touchdown pass, receiving touchdown, and rushing touchdown against the Rams, showing the opponent exactly what they missed out on. His 183 all-purpose yards acounted for nearly half of the 49ers total yards in the game.

McCaffrey’s touchdown catch was spectacular. Even more impressive may have been his touchdown throw to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. San Francisco trailed 7-0 in the second quarter. The Rams thought McCaffrey was running another swing route, something they saw him do just two weeks earlier when the Rams faced the Panthers. They took the bait, leaving Aiyuk wide open.