A running back hasn’t been the NFL’s MVP since 2012 when Vikings RB Adrian Peterson did it by nearly breaking the single-season rushing record. The position has virtually been written off as a valuable piece of an NFL roster, but 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey might be changing that perception.
McCaffrey was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 4, marking the second time he’s won the award so far this season. He was also the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September.
Buy 49ers TicketsBy the metrics of weekly and monthly awards, McCaffrey is probably the MVP frontrunner.
It should of course be noted that any QB that has a great year on a No. 1 or 2 seed will probably wind up winning the award. However, there might be a “best player on the best team” argument for McCaffrey, on top of a possible pro-RB narrative come voting time after all the turmoil the position has dealt with this season.
San Francisco is tied with Philadelphia for the best record in the league, which helps McCaffrey’s case. There are certainly QBs in the conversation – Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Justin Herbert, for example – but Cousins is on a bad team, Herbert’s club isn’t even in the playoffs going into Week 5, and Mahomes is still figuring out how to be his best self with his current patchwork receiving corps.
After four weeks the award seems ripe for plucking by a non-QB, and McCaffrey is doing everything possible to force his way into a conversation that was dominated by QBs in the preseason. He’s leading the NFL in rushing attempts, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, and he’s third in the league in yards per carry among players with 50-plus attempts in four games.
McCaffrey is also the NFL’s leader with 600 scrimmage yards, and tied with Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert for most total TDs (seven).
If he keeps up his current pace he’ll finish this season with 1,950 rushing yards, 600 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns. He’d also be doing so for a club that figures to be one of the top two seeds in the NFC. That’s a very, very strong MVP case even in a league where RBs “don’t matter” and QBs dominate.
There’s still a ton of football left and any QB who emerges down the stretch will win the award, but through four weeks it’s hard to argue that anyone other than McCaffrey is the most valuable player in football.
