Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara dueling for NFL record

San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in eight-week duel for an NFL record

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 11/16/23

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey already tied one NFL record earlier this season and now, he’s on track to take down another one.

As is New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who’s tied with McCaffrey for the second-most receptions by a running back through their first seven seasons (480). Both are just four receptions away from breaking the record held by 49ers great Roger Craig, who caught 483 passes from 1983 to 1989.

McCaffrey and Kamara, who both entered the NFL in 2017, each passed Hall of Famers LaDainian Tomlinson (458) and Marshall Faulk (465) on the list earlier this year.

Now, they will likely be neck-and-neck battling for the record over the rest of the season as both play prominent roles in their respective passing attacks. Fortunately for McCaffrey, he has one extra game to break the record with Kamara on a bye this week.

Christian McCaffrey’s ranks among running backs, thru Week 10:

Rushing Yards: #1
Yards After Contact: #1
Missed Tackles Forced: #1
Explosive Runs: #1
First Downs: #1
Receiving Yards: #1
PFF Grade: #1
Rushing Touchdowns: #2
Yards Per Carry: #3

OPOY type season from 23.
— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) November 14, 2023

McCaffrey ranks second to Kamara in catches (38) this season, but he leads all RBs in receiving yards (339) and touchdown catches (four). He has recored 100 or more receptions in two of his first three years and hasn’t had fewer than 80 catches in any of the four years he’s been fully healthy.

Kamara leads all running backs this season with 50 receptions on 56 targets. He’s caught 80 or more passes in each of his first four seasons and hasn’t had a year in which he’s logged fewer than 47 receptions.

In Week 8, McCaffrey tied Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkins’s record of 17 consecutive games with a touchdown. His streak ended on Sunday in the 49ers' 34-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars – a game in which seemingly everyone but McCaffrey reached the end zone (receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle and even fullback Kyle Juszczyk all scored).

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