Now entering his fifth season in the NFL, Carolina Panthers running back Christian Mccaffrey will look for a bounce-back season in 2021. Widely considered the consensus No. 1 overall pick in fantasy football rankings and drafts last year, McCaffrey went on to play just three games due to injury. However, he is still at the top of drafts on Yahoo, ESPN and CBS despite his injury-riddled campaign in 2020. With concerns surrounding his durability, the question remains: Does McCaffrey deserves his position at the top of 2021 fantasy football drafts?
Fantasy Football Player Previews: #1 Christian McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey’s Production Profile
From a production standpoint, McCaffrey still holds the crown as the NFL’s elite feature back. The Panthers eased McCaffrey in during his 117-carry rookie season in 2017. From there, he eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing and 100 catches in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019. McCaffrey’s 2019 was one of the top seasons ever produced by a running back. McCaffrey rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns on 287 carries while adding 116 receptions for another 1,005 yards and four touchdowns. He even spent 11% of his snaps in the slot or out wide in 2019.Â
Check out Matt Gajewski’s breakdown of Christian Mccaffrey in the 2021 Fantasy Football rankings and draft cheat sheet for Yahoo, ESPN and CBS leagues.
McCaffrey played on 91.3% and 93.4% of snaps, respectively, in 2018 and 2019. While he only appeared in three games last year, McCaffrey touched the ball 26, 22 and 28 times in those games. He also played on 97%, 64%, and 71% of snaps despite suffering injuries in the latter two. However, the Panthers did very little to address their running back depth behind McCaffrey this offseason. Mike Davis departed during free agency, and the team only added rookie Chuba Hubbard on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Without other viable options, McCaffrey looks likely to handle another enormous workload.Â
Digging into the workload specifics, McCaffrey handled 93% of all running back carries and 94% of all running back targets in 2019. This massive workload also included 80.6% of Carolina’s red zone duties. He is already handling a three-down and goal-line role and has shown the ability to dominate all phases of the game.Â
Efficiency Metrics
While McCaffrey received an enormous workload, he also excelled from an efficiency perspective. McCaffrey forced 49 missed tackles and notched 13 runs of 15-plus yards in 2019. Both ranked inside the top 10. McCaffrey also registered 1.76 yards per route run, another top 10 efficiency mark when looking at the receiving game. In fact, his 1,005 yards receiving rank fifth all time for running backs in a single season. Additionally, his 116 receptions in 2019 and 107 receptions in 2018 rank first and second in single-season receptions all time among running backs. With both efficiency and volume working in his favor, McCaffrey easily deserved the first overall pick last year.Â
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But how will McCaffrey be used going forward? Outside of Carolina’s decision to ignore the running back position, McCaffrey will also finally experience the benefits of offensive coordinator Joe Brady. In his first season as offensive coordinator, Brady contributed to Davis’ breakout season, which saw him catch 59 passes for 373 yards. Even going back to Brady’s LSU days, Clyde Edwards Helaire caught 55 passes for 453 yards. This offense also produced a career year from Teddy Bridgewater. While the Panthers will look to rehabilitate the status of Sam Darnold, Brady’s ability to design high percentage throws for his signal caller also bodes well for McCaffrey.Â
Along the offensive line, the Panthers also appear to have upgraded. They lost the oft-injured Russell Okung, but they also added Cameron Erving and Pat Elflein for depth. In addition, they spent a third rounder on BYU’s Brady Christensen and a Day 3 pick on 350-pound Alabama guard Deonte Brown. With Taylor Moton on the franchise tag, this unit still has major question marks. However, they appear to be making strides in the right direction.Â
Bottom Line
As for the 2021 fantasy football season, McCaffrey already claimed to be 100% at OTAs. Unless a running back emerges from the depths, McCaffrey looks likely to handle another enormous workload for the Panthers. While the offensive line leaves questions and the Panthers project for just 7.5 wins across various sportsbooks, McCaffrey’s elite usage as a receiver warrants a selection at the top of drafts. McCaffrey continues to hold the title as 2021’s consensus top overall pick
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