Running back Christian McCaffrey’s 49ers debut against the Chiefs was truncated after he had just two days to absorb his new team’s gameplan and playbook. He played just 22 offensive snaps on which he posted eight carries and two receptions. It sounds like his workload will increase in Week 8 against the Rams.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday said McCaffrey will have the entire playbook available when he suits up again in red and gold.
“Yeah, it’s a real challenge for anybody, but you have to work at it,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey learning the new offense. “And he did that a lot in the 48 hours he was here to be a part of it last week and I’m not worried about him doing it this week too.”
McCaffrey this week will have an entire week of preparation with practices and meetings.
Fantasy football players will be happy to hear McCaffrey won’t be on any kind of snap count according to his new head coach, although that doesn’t necessarily guarantee he’ll get the workload of a No. 1 back.
“No, it’s something that you feel out once you get to know people,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey having a snap restriction. “You get to know your team, you get to know a player, you get to know his backups, you just get familiar with people, but I never go in with anybody I don’t know and say given amount of numbers or a stat or anything. I try to get to know the athlete and how they play throughout a game and how we use them and how you balance people out and that’s usually how we do it.”
Given his productivity and the potential absence of wide receiver Deebo Samuel, there could be a ton of opportunities for McCaffrey against the Rams.
In Week 7 his 10 touches resulted in 62 yards. The 6.2 yards per touch would be his career high over an entire season. It stands to reason he’ll pick up where he left off as he gets more familiar with the offense and Shanahan builds a game plan around McCaffrey’s multifaceted skill set.
