NFL MVP race: 22 things to know about emerging superstar Christian McCaffrey

6. A fantasy stud

McCaffrey clinched a spot in the PPR-league hall of fame last season. The then-second-year Panther’s 107 catches broke Matt Forte’s NFL record for receptions by a running back (previously 102) in a season. This mark stands as the Panthers’ season standard for any position, eclipsing Steve Smith’s 103 in his All-Pro 2005 season. Among modern-era wideouts to never catch 107 passes in a season: Terrell Owens, Julian Edelman, Keenan Allen, Odell Beckham Jr. 

7. Bye-bye, CJ

The Panthers signed C.J. Anderson in 2018 but released him midway through last season. Suddenly using the 5-foot-11, 205-pound McCaffrey as a three-down dynamo, offensive coordinator Norv Turner did not have much need for Anderson. McCaffrey’s 965 snaps led all running backs by at least 70 last season. Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley and Todd Gurley were the only others to clear 750.

8. A breakout in 2018 ...

While McCaffrey’s yards from scrimmage total as a rookie (1,086) ranks 108th all time among first-year backs, his Year 2 production (1,965) slots 10th for sophomore-season runners. It is hard to overstate the breakout season Run CMC submitted in 2018. Nearly doubling his scrimmage yards total in the same amount of games, he transformed from a specialist to a do-it-all back and surpassed the Panthers’ scrimmage yards record (also held by Steve Smith) by 402.

9. .... but no Pro Bowl

On that sophomore-season list, nine of the top 19 backs (Chris Johnson, Edgerrin James, Eric Dickerson, Arian Foster, Adrian Peterson, Emmitt Smith, Otis Armstrong, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders) won the rushing title. Eighteen of the top 19 made the Pro Bowl. The only one who did not: McCaffrey, who lost out to Elliott, Barkley and Gurley.

10. Unreal 2019 pace

The second-generation NFLer is zooming toward something transcendent this season. McCaffrey’s 866 scrimmage yards through five games are the second most since 1950. That figure trails only Jim Brown’s 988 in 1963, which was the Browns legend’s seventh season. Only McCaffrey and Brown have surpassed 175 scrimmage yards in four of a season’s first five games.

11. Could he break this season record?

McCaffrey’s early-season success has him on pace for yard-gaining immortality. Chris Johnson’s 2,509 yards -- from his "CJ2K" 2009 season -- represent the NFL yards-from-scrimmage record. McCaffrey's pace: 2,771. Only two players -– Johnson and Marshall Faulk -– have surpassed 2,400 in a season. 

12. He tops the Jets ... all by himself

More perspective: The Jets through four games have 718 yards – a cool 148 less than McCaffrey. In a per-game race, McCaffrey's 173.2 average sits just behind the Jets’ 179.5. However, the Panthers running back leads the Jets 42-39 in scoring. His seven touchdowns are five more than Gang Green’s offense has produced. The Dolphins (26 points) trail McCaffrey by more than two TDs.

13. Upward mobility

From a rushing standpoint, the vault from where McCaffrey stood as a rookie to now is staggering. He closed his first season with 27.2 rushing yards per game. After five 2019 contests, the strikingly capable between-the-tackles slasher is averaging 117.4 YPG. That is almost twice as much as he managed per game in 2018 (68.6). This comes behind a Carolina offensive line Football Outsiders ranks only 14th in adjusted line yards, the site's chief run-blocking measurement. 

14. A magic number

CMC now has two games featuring exactly 237 yards from scrimmage. His latest such outing, in the Panthers’ Week 5 win over the Jaguars, tied his previous franchise-record performance from November 2018. McCaffrey racked up those 237 in a 30-27 loss to the Seahawks. Stewart’s 222 in a 2009 game represented Carolina’s previous standard.

15. Now THAT's fast

Sunday's 84-yard touchdown sprint featured McCaffrey hitting 21.95 mph –- the second-fastest max speed a player has reached on a TD run in 2019, according to Next Gen Stats. Only the 83-yard TD run by San Francisco's Matt Breida  (22.30 mph) in Week 5 against Cleveland topped it.

16. MVP! MVP! MVP?

Running backs have won the Associated Press MVP award 15 times since its 1961 inception, but only once in the past 12 seasons. Quarterbacks have claimed 15 MVP awards this century, with Faulk (2000), Shaun Alexander (2005), Tomlinson (’06) and Peterson (’12) interrupting the usual honors routine.

17. Making his QB look good

Another early checkmark in the CMC-for-MVP pursuit: The Panthers’ quarterback situation. Kyle Allen is the first undrafted passer to win his first four starts since Kurt Warner in 1999.

18. More MVP fodder

Nineteen teams are currently starting first-round quarterbacks. Seven more QB1s emerged in the second or third rounds, with Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins turning themselves into quality starters out of Round 4. Allen went undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2018. Teams do not make a habit out of giving snaps to UDFAs. The Panthers' three straight wins without Newton bolsters their yardage machine’s early MVP candidacy.

19. What a workhorse

The Panthers’ 2018 realization of McCaffrey’s viability as a three-down workhorse has resulted in 462 touches over the span's 21 games. Only Elliott (479) has more. No one else has logged more than 400. McCaffrey is on pace for 336 carries, 117 more than in 2018.

20. They are given him the rock

McCaffrey’s 435.2-touch pace would enter historic territory. Only 12 backs in the game’s 99-season history have logged 435 touches in a season. Just one (Demarco Murray in 2014) did so this decade. Murray, who was listed at 220 pounds, was never quite the same after that season. Even though it would interfere with McCaffrey's MVP run, the Panthers must be mindful of their burgeoning star’s workload. 

21. Show him the $$$$$

Eleven members of the 2017 rookie class are now starting running backs. Players drafted in 2017 will become eligible for extensions in 2020, which will make for an interesting offseason. Excepting Fournette and McCaffrey, the only two first-round backs from that draft, the rest of this contingent will be in contract years in 2020. It is quite possible Mixon, Alvin Kamara, Aaron Jones and some of the others will have new deals in hand before McCaffrey and Fournette do. The fifth-year option included in first-rounders’ contracts allows teams to slow-play matters with top picks.

22. Advice for The Man

Elliott and Gurley are the NFL's only $14 million-plus-per-year backs. McCaffrey does not boast their accolades, but his dominance since 2018, usage rate and age moves him firmly in line for a deal in this ballpark. Both Gurley and Elliott, and Cardinals running back David Johnson, signed before their fourth seasons. McCaffrey is on pace for another big workload in 2019. It would be wise if he made an Elliott-esque move to secure his high-end extension before taking the field in Year 4 and risking an injury while playing on a rookie deal.