The 2023 NFL season is upon us, and the San Francisco 49ers have lofty goals. Their roster is stacked, and they have playmakers everywhere on offense. One of those playmakers, running back Christian McCaffrey, was acquired last year via a mid-season trade with the Carolina Panthers. It's a move that paid off big for Kyle Shanahan's squad.
After being shipped to Santa Clara, McCaffrey contributed 1,210 all-purpose yards and 10 total touchdowns, bringing his season total to 1,880 yards and 13 touchdowns. The running back did that while trying to absorb a new playbook and integrate himself into a new system.
McCaffrey could be poised for a big 2023 campaign now that he's finally had an entire offseason to become comfortable with the 49ers' offense.
"So, coming into camp, you're not playing catch up," McCaffrey said during training camp. "So it's been great to be able to kind of not just learn the offense, but master it."
That's one of the reasons why NFL executives and scouts predict McCaffrey to win Offensive Player of the Year honors.
"He didn't get to San Francisco until late October last year -- he should be way more in tune with the offense early," one AFC executive told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "1.5K rushing yards and 100 catches should be relatively easy for him."
McCaffrey's career-high is 1,387 rushing yards, achieved in 2019. He caught 116 passes for 1,005 receiving yards that season, surpassing his 107-catch season a year earlier. The running back should be a reliable target for second-year quarterback Brock Purdy, who is coming off offseason surgery on his throwing arm.
"He's the perfect weapon for a quarterback like Brock Purdy," an NFC personnel official told Fowler.
San Francisco opens the regular season against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday.