San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey can become the first player since Emmitt Smith in 1995 to lead the NFL in rushing yards from wire to wire (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).
McCaffrey rushed for 152 yards in the 49ers’ Week 1 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers and led the league in rushing at that point. He has yet to relinquish his title.
Through 13 games, McCaffrey has racked up 1,177 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. In addition, he has logged 52 catches for 437 yards and five scores.
Miami Dolphins halfback Raheem Mostert is currently second in the the NFL with 924 yards as a rusher, so McCaffrey has a very comfortable lead in that department.
Since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, only three players have led the league in rushing all season: Smith, Walter Payton and O.J. Simpson, who did it twice.
McCaffrey, who played his collegiate football at Stanford, was originally selected by the Carolina Panthers with the eighth overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft.
He spent the first five-and-a-half years of his career with the Panthers, with his best season with the club coming in 2019 when he rattled off 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns while recording 4.8 yards per attempt. He also hauled in 116 receptions for 1,005 yards and four scores.
Injuries limited McCaffrey in the latter half of his tenure in Carolina, as he played in just 10 games between 2020 and 2021.
The Panthers proceeded to trade him to San Francisco midway through last season. In 17 contests between both Carolina and the Niners in 2022, the 27-year-old accumulated 1,139 yards while reaching the end zone eight times as a rusher. He averaged 4.7 yards per tote and also caught 85 passes for 741 yards and five scores.
Christian McCaffrey has made a couple of Pro Bowls and has earned one First-Team All-Pro selection.
The 49ers will take on the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday.
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