49ers’ McCaffrey motivated by running back insecurities

SANTA CLARA — It is inconceivable that 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey could be insecure regarding any part of his NFL game, but on Thursday the All-Pro had a confession. "I've had a lot of coaches say things about me in the past, so that's probably part of my insecurities and competitiveness about how I want to be a complete back," McCaffrey said. "I think this dates back to when I was in middle school and high school." When McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers from the Carolina Panthers midway through the 2022 season, the running back shared that he had a conversion with 49ers brass to make his intentions very clear. The Stanford product wanted to be utilized as a complete back and not just simply as a slot receiver. "When you go somewhere new, you don't know what they are thinking," McCaffrey said. "I don't know if that was a validated conversation, but I felt like I needed to have it." Since his arrival in Santa Clara, McCaffrey has been unitized in every possible way coach Kyle Shanahan could imagine, and the ball carrier is loving it. In his first 11 games with the club in 2022, McCaffrey racked up 159 carries for 746 yards and six touchdowns while also being effective...