Christian McCaffrey is coming off of a tough injury-plagued season that limited him to just four games, but Ed McCaffrey believes his son will bounce back just fine from it.
The 29-year-old McCaffrey has dealt with serious injuries before, only to bounce back from them stronger than ever every time. McCaffrey was limited to 10 total games during the 2020 and 2021 seasons only to re-emerge as a top five MVP candidate during the 2023 season after rushing for 1,459 rushing yards.
Last season he dealt with an Achilles injury before the start of the season and a season-ending PCL injury in the middle of it.
“I say fall in love with the process,” McCaffrey told Bet Ideas in an exclusive interview, when asked what advice he would give to his son about having a long career. “I really don’t need to give Christian any advice, honestly — he’s a full grown man. He’s been playing a long time. He gets it. He’s always kind of gotten it, but he’s in love with the process.”
The elder McCaffrey played 13 years in the NFL until he was 35 years old. One of the reasons he believes his son is destined to have a long career is because he loves the “process” of working out and staying in shape.
“He loves training, he loves working out, he loves the offseason, because he gets bigger, stronger, faster,” Ed McCaffrey said. “If you just focus on that, you enjoy every day, and then you play for as long as you can.”
Ed McCaffrey: Christian ‘Best Receiving Running Back’ Of All-Time
McCaffrey says he was “ready” when he retired at the age of 35, but says that it’s a different time period now, mentioning how guys like Tom Brady played deep into their 40s.
His son, Christian, has always been extremely determined and motivated, which are probably his best traits. While his talent on the field is undeniable, it’s his determination off of the field that makes him one of the best when he’s on the field.
“He’s competitive, has an incredible work ethic, determined,” says McCaffrey of Christian. “We were talking about a processor with quarterbacks, he processes probably better than any running back that’s ever played the game.
“He’s the best receiving running back out of the backfield that’s ever played the game — that’s just a fact. I think those types of backs, based on the way the passing game has evolved in the NFL, are the type of backs that are going to be highly regarded moving forward.”
McCaffrey mentions what separates his son from the other running backs and that’s his ability to not only catch the ball out of the backfield, but basically run routes as if he’s a wide receiver. Christian is considered one of the best receiving backs in the NFL, setting a record by catching 116 passes as a running back during the 2019 season.
“You’re always going to need a first- and second-down guy,” says McCaffrey. “Those guys are valuable, but having a guy that doesn’t leave the field that can contribute on third down (is huge). And when we say receiver, there’s a difference between catching check-downs or catching the wide routes or swing routes – running the running back route tree – and lining up in the slot, and going man-to-man versus a safety or a linebacker, running a stutter comeback outside the numbers.
“There’s a huge difference between being able to play receiver and running back. Not just running routes as a running back, but being able to play two different positions.”
McCaffrey says he saw as early as his seventh grade year that Christian could be better than him. That’s saying something considering McCaffrey was a three-time Super Bowl champion wide receiver and a Pro Bowler during his NFL career.
“In seventh grade, we were running around the golf course, and that’s when I realized I couldn’t catch him anymore and it was kind of pissing me off,” says McCaffrey while laughing. “We were messing around, I started chasing him, I wasn’t quite catching him. I was getting close, but he would cut or juke and jive and kind of lose me. I realized this kid, he’s not too bad.”
He also recalls the time that Christian beat former All-Pro linebacker Chad Brown on a route at that age.
“Christian ran a route on him, was a choice route, and he beat him on the route,” says McCaffrey. “Chad (Brown) stays in pretty great shape. He was still in really good shape. I knew it wasn’t just me that he was beating. He just made a move on a former All Pro linebacker, and looked pretty good doing it. That’s when he was in seventh or eighth grade. You never know for sure because you never know how big and tall and quick and fast they’re going to grow. I mean, seventh grade to college is a big difference. But I could tell early on, he definitely had some skills.”
McCaffrey and the Niners will look to bounce back after they went through rough 2024 seasons. San Francisco went 6-11 after they dealt with injuries to a number of their starters, just their second non-playoff season since 2019.
However, as the elder McCaffrey mentions, the Niners are still “loaded” and he expects them to bounce back next season.
“The roster as it stands right now is loaded,” says McCaffrey.