Christian McCaffrey may not have a realistic shot at winning the NFL's coveted MVP award, but his head coach firmly believes that the San Francisco 49ers running back should, at the very least, be part of the discussion.
When asked if McCaffrey should be a candidate for the MVP honor, Shanahan responded, "I think, yeah, without a doubt. I know it goes to quarterbacks the majority of the time, and there's plenty of worthy quarterbacks, but I can't say that Christian's behind anyone. I mean, he's as valuable in this league as anyone."
McCaffrey currently leads the NFL in several statistical categories, including the most rushing yards (939) and total touchdowns (16). On Sunday, he can become the first 49ers running back to surpass 1,000 rushing yards since Frank Gore achieved this feat in 2014. And McCaffrey will still have five games remaining on the schedule to increase his season total.
Heading into Week 13, McCaffrey is on pace for 1,451 rushing yards, a potential single-season career-high. Additionally, he is on track to accumulate 2,052 all-purpose yards, which would mark his highest single-season total since 2019.