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Ralph Vacchiano
NFC East Reporter
HENDERSON, Nev. — The best player on the San Francisco 49ers, the one that makes their offense go, plays a position that the NFL is desperately trying to devalue. Nobody wants to pay running backs what they think they’re worth anymore.
Except for the San Francisco 49ers. And they were only willing to pay one specific player.
They understand that Christian McCaffrey is the exception to the rule.
“It’s hard to find guys like Christian that can provide that value,” said 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk on Tuesday at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa, the team’s hotel for Super Bowl LVIII. “You need a guy that can play outside of the backfield. Yes, whatever position you’re listed as you’ve got to be pretty good at that. But then where you really take it to the next level is being able to play other positions at a high level as well.”
In other words, what makes the 27-year-old McCaffrey worth everything the 49ers gave up to get him 16 months ago, not to mention the millions they’ve paid him since, is that the 5-foot-11, 210-pounder is not just a running back. He can line up as a receiver or a tight end. He can run the ball or stay in and block.
He is a weapon who has proven he can do it all.
“I really think he’s the best football player I’ve ever seen,” Juszczyk added. “I’m convinced that if he played wide receiver he would be an all-pro wide receiver. He sees the field like a quarterback. He understands the game very well. He runs between the tackles, he runs outside the tackles, he can break tackles, he can outrun people, he’s great in pass protection, he runs routes, he blocks for other people.
“You can’t ask him to do anything else. I mean, he’s thrown touchdowns. He’s incredible.”
That’s why McCaffrey is not the argument that proves that NFL running backs deserve a lot more money than they currently are getting, because there really aren’t any NFL running backs that are quite…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/christian-mccaffrey-shown-49ers-hes-rare-rb-worth-hefty-price
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Publish date : 2024-02-07 00:42:53
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