Since joining the San Francisco 49ers last season, Christian McCaffrey has done remarkable things. Leading the NFL in rushing yards with 1,177 and all-purpose yards with 1,614, the running back is a big reason why the 49ers are in the driver's seat for home-field advantage in the playoffs, and he'll be a big reason for their success if they win Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Thursday and discussed the parallels between McCaffrey and another Bay Area superstar athlete—Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. An argument was made that, similar to Curry's impact on the basketball court, McCaffrey elevates everyone around him on the football field, creating opportunities for his teammates.
The coach was asked if he agreed with the comparison.
"First of all, not even talking Christian, when you have a threatening run game, just the run game does that to a defense," Shanahan responded. "No matter what they want to do, no matter how good your quarterback or your receivers are, if you have a good running team and you're willing to run the ball, that's a problem for defenses. They have to honor that, which makes everything else better.
"And then you add in an elite running back, like Christian, with a good running team. So that's just twice as big of a problem as it could be just in a normal situation. And then, on top of it, you go out to what Christian could do to all the guys who cover him, which are usually linebackers and safeties. If he wasn't such a threat in the run game and we didn't run him so much, then go ahead, put some corners in there to play linebacker and safety because then they're in positions that they could have a better chance covering him."
McCaffrey ran for a league-leading 145 rushing yards on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, opening the game with an impressive 72-yard run. Shanahan emphasized that, with defenses focusing on stopping McCaffrey and the 49ers' rushing attack, opportunities are opened up for the team's other offensive weapons.
"So that kind of all ties together and stuff," Shanahan continued. "And that's similar to how [WR] Deebo [Samuel] is, too, because you got a guy who, if you're handing it off to him or throwing a screen out there to him, he does have a threat to go the distance. So you got to be very careful not to give him a lot of space because if you give any of those guys space, they can make you pay.
"Just like if Steph Curry's sitting in the corner all day, you're not going to just give him five feet over there. You better have someone on him, closed out, because he's going to hit that three every single time."
Shanahan also emphasized the value of having versatile players like McCaffrey and Samuel, saying, "But when you can put that receiver in a running back position, or the running back out to a receiver position, then it kind of just multiplies."
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