SANTA CLARA — Is Christian McCaffrey back up to speed?
Depends on who is doing the evaluating. Reviews from the assembled media at 49ers organized team activities and this week’s mandatory minicamp have ranged from “he’s lost a step” to “he’s as explosive as ever.”
Which is actually a little silly, considering the 49ers have yet to put pads on to see whether the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year is still one of the league’s best rushing/receiving backs after an injury-riddled season.
McCaffrey is 29 years old, a young man in every way but in a football sense, at one of the NFL’s most unforgiving positions when it comes to attrition.
Limited to four games because of a lingering case of bilateral Achilles tendinitis and then a posterior cruciate ligament strain, McCaffrey had just 202 yards rushing on 50 carries and 15 receptions for 146 yards and never found the end zone.
The previous year, McCaffrey had 1,459 yards rushing and 67 receptions for 564 yards. In 33 games for the 49ers in 2022-23 including the playoffs since being acquired by trade, McCaffrey scored 38 touchdowns before last year’s 6-11 nosedive.
It’s been a different McCaffrey in one sense. Coach Kyle Shanahan has vowed to “protect him from himself” in terms of practice workload, so he’s not playing at warp speed on every play. McCaffrey responds to durability questions as if he’s shaking off a tackler.
“I don’t think about that,” McCaffrey said Wednesday as the 49ers wrapped up their offseason. “My job is to put my body in the best position it can be and be me. There’s a lot of noise and sometimes there’s a lot of things going on. My job is to go 100 percent every play and continue to get better. I just try to focus on that.”
It’s no accident the 49ers had trouble in the red zone last season with McCaffrey unable to dent the end zone. Any hope they have of reclaiming the NFC West and becoming a factor in the postseason rests with a return of the McCaffrey of old and not an “old” McCaffrey.
Fatherhood beckons. McCaffrey’s wife, model Olivia Culpo, is expecting and the due date, McCaffrey said, is “right around the corner.”
The injury issues and an impending birth haven’t seemed to change McCaffrey’s maniacal preparation and focus.
“Christian is a psycho in a good way and so he does everything imaginable every single day,” Shanahan said. “Last year he couldn’t because he was battling injuries all year. And this year he is healthy so he is right back to being who he has always been and it’s really fun to watch.”
Tight end George Kittle, who trades fitness tips and workout philosophies with McCaffrey on a regular basis, said he looks no different than he did before last season.
“He’s one year removed from being offensive player of the year, so he’s good at football,” Kittle said. “He looks great.”
As running backs coach Bobby Turner put it, “Christian is Christian again.”
That’s the hope, anyway. The 49ers’ season may depend on it.
With McCaffrey’s season ending after the PCL strain in Week 13 against Buffalo, he was able to rebuild his body.
“Being fully transparent, obviously last year didn’t go the way I wanted,” McCaffrey said. “It didn’t go the way anyone wanted. But time off has allowed me to start from scratch and have the time where I can build a base again, come into OTAs and play football and get back into it mentally, emotionally and physically. It was much needed and I’m happy we had it.”
Running back Christian McCaffrey answers questions from reporters Wednesday on the 49ers’ last day of mandatory minicamp. Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group
Overtraining was one of factors which may have contributed to the issues with both Achilles, so McCaffrey has regularly altered his workout regimens.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me that as you get older you need to do less,” McCaffrey said. “I think there’s just a middle ground with that statement. For me, it’s kind of a constant evaluation of where your body’s at and what you need.
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“You put a lot of trust in other people, your trainer, your treatment people, the guys at the facility. If you follow their plans and you like where it’s going and you start to feel good, you’re constantly evaluating where you’re at and trusting the whole process.”
While acknowledging that non-padded practices won’t necessarily give an indication of what’s in store for the 49ers, McCaffrey likes what he sees before taking the next 40 days off.
“You can always go what you see off the tape,” McCaffrey said. “That’s the first thing I look at. You see guys’ intent on tape everywhere. Defensive running to the ball, O-linemen finishing downfield, receivers finishing their blocks even though we’re not allowed to have contact. It’s a team that’s excited to go out there and practice. It’s a sign of a mature team and the sign of a team that has a high standard.”
