There has been a lot of praise heaped on Jacksonville Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette. Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr compared Fournette to last year’s super rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott, which is high praise indeed. However, Fournette is not the only running back getting a lot of praise in the 2017 NFL preseason. Carolina Panthers rookie running back Christian Mccaffrey is also getting a lot of high praise this training camp and his college offensive coordinator is not surprised.
McCaffrey’s college numbers
Christian McCaffrey played college ball at Stanford.
In 2015, McCaffrey had one of the best seasons of anyone in college football, running for 2,019 yards and eight touchdowns for the Cardinal. Christian won the Paul Hornung Award for being the Most Versatile player in college football in 2015. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Derrick Henry, a back who now plays for the Tennessee Titans.
McCaffrey had fewer rushing yards in 2016, with 1,603 on the ground, but had more touchdowns at 13. While his yards were down from his 2015 numbers, McCaffrey did have more all-purpose yards than anyone in college football, with 211.6 per game average. It all helped him become a first-round draft pick with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
When asked about Christian McCaffrey, Stanford offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren told ESPN that the “fake” that has Carolina Panthers coaches so excited is something he watched all the time in college. Bloomgren even said that a Stanford educated defensive back would fall for it constantly in practice.
McCaffrey’s 2017 outlook
Christian McCaffrey has used his “fake” to juke Pro Bowl linebacker Luke Kuechly as well as Thomas Davis. Jonathan Stewart, who is likely to lose his starting job to McCaffrey down the line, said that no one in the NFL can stop Christian one-on-one. Bloomgren said he has been saying that for years and ESPN has compared the juke move and speed to that of Barry Sanders.
What is even scarier is that Carolina has often used two running backs and having Jonathan Stewart spell Christian could keep the youngster healthy and extend his career.
Christian McCaffrey is also a great receiver, with 45 receptions in 2015 and 37 in 2016, giving Stanford eight receiving touchdowns on top of his rushing scores. With Cam Newton’s ability to run the ball, McCaffrey could be the weapon that the Carolina Panthers have been trying to find to put them back in the title picture.
