The San Francisco 49ers officially have themselves the most outstanding offensive player in the game—and all it cost them was a second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round pick.
On Thursday night, running back Christian McCaffrey was named the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year for the 2023 campaign. The 27-year-old, of course, played the first five full seasons of his career with the Carolina Panthers—who traded him to this year’s NFC champions in the middle of 2022.
McCaffrey led the entire NFL with 1,459 rushing yards, a total that also accounts as a new career-high. The 27-year-old also led all players in touches (339), yards from scrimmage (2,023) and total touchdowns (21) while setting a few more career-bests in yards per carry (5.4), first downs (114) and receiving scores (seven).
His efforts, in addition, earned him a unanimous first-team All-Pro nod and a nomination for this year’s Most Valuable Player award.
While this honor is certainly a momentous one for McCaffrey, he and the 49ers are hoping to win something a bit bigger in a few nights.
