The San Francisco 49ers acquired running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for second, third, and fourth-round picks in 2023, plus a 2024 fifth-rounder.
McCaffrey goes from arguably the worst offenses in the league to one of the best rushing schemes around, so the improved efficiency should more than make up for the potential decrease in volume. The trade is a significant downgrade for Jeff Wilson and Elijah Mitchell (knee) moving forward, while McCaffrey will also likely take opportunities away from Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle. On the flip side, D'Onta Foreman is now expected to lead a running back committee with Chuba Hubbard in Carolina. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said it's "up in the air" whether McCaffrey will play in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs, but according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the running back is expected to be available on Sunday.
Operating under the assumption that CMC makes his 49ers debut in Week 8, he is the RB7 in numberFire's rest-of-season rankings. Our models project him to average 16.0 carries for 74.0 rushing yards and 2.8 receptions (3.6 targets) for 24.1 receiving yards per game, with 8.54 touchdowns.
Source: Adam Schefter, ESPN