Christian McCaffrey says going to the 49ers felt like joining a Pro Bowl roster

Christian McCaffrey conceded that he was irritated when the Carolina Panthers shipped him to the San Francisco 49ers nearly two months into last season.

Talk about starting over. The Panthers were the only NFL team McCaffrey ever knew. But he acknowledged that it didn’t take him that long to figure out his new team was a huge talent upgrade from the Panthers.

“I was thrown in the fire pretty quickly,” Christian McCaffrey said Friday on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.

“Early on in practice when I was in the huddle, I had George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Juszczyk… I felt like I was on a Pro Bowl roster. It hit me that this was a special team. I was very fortunate that I was coming to a team that had build a culture.”

Plus, McCaffrey said he believed the 49ers also featured “some of the best coaches in the NFL and guys who know how to use players like myself who have been doing it for so long. I just felt very fortunate to be part of something already so developed … a culture that was already established. I do want to make it clear that I had nothing against Carolina when I said that. No bad blood, I love everybody there, still keep in touch with my teammates there, some of my coaches.”

And McCaffrey loved that he’d come full circle in his NFL career when it came to his family. He’s the son of former NFL great Ed McCaffrey. And the elder McCaffrey played for coach Mike Shanahan, who is the father of 49ers leader Kyle Shanahan.

“There was a lot of familiarity there, it’s funny how it comes full circle, obviously with McCaffrey-Shanahan dynamic.” he said. “I’m proud to be a 49er and I’m excited to continue to work and hopefully do something special.”

"Early on in practice when I was in the huddle, I had George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk, Kyle Juszczyk… I felt like I was on a Pro Bowl roster."@cmc_22 at the @gmfb breakfast table on how he clicked so well and so fast with the @49ers. pic.twitter.com/KOE6iq9KgC

— NFL (@NFL) May 19, 2023

Who knows, maybe Christian McCaffrey can repeat his 2019 stats

Christian McCaffrey also was healthy last season for the first time in two years as he played for both the Panthers and the 49ers. His best season still is 2019. That’s when he surpassed 1,000 yards in both rushing and receiving. His numbers were amazing. He scored 15 rushing touchdowns while gaining 1,387 yards. And he caught 116 passes for 1,005 yards and four scores. McCaffrey’s totals represented 43 percent of the Panthers offensive production.

Now layer in this detail. Kyle Shanahan is known for his innovative ways to better involve the team’s running backs. Just look at how he utilizes Deebo Samuel. Now, he’s got Christian McCaffrey. Numbers for both players may go down. That’s only because there are only so many snaps. With the players McCaffrey mentioned, the 49ers offense rarely stalled, even when they changed quarterbacks.

So no wonder McCaffrey says that the trade to the 49ers was the best thing that ever happened to him.

“It takes everybody,” McCaffrey said last week during an event in San Francisco. “This is the biggest team game in the world that gets so much individual attention.

“You’ve got guys named the G.O.A.T., and this and that. It’s true and it’s great. But no one is anybody without their teammates in this game. That’s what makes it so special. That’s why people watch. (And) that’s why we love to play it.”