A year ago this month, the 49ers surprised the NFL by trading for Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey.
He was great last year. He’s even better this year.
Through four games, he has 459 rushing yards, 141 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. His candidacy for league MVP is building.
On Tuesday’s PFT Live, we look at how the odds have shifted. While he’s far from the favorite, he’s moving that way. And while it has become a quarterback award, the reality is that, if the 49ers win the No. 1 seed in the NFC, it will be him or quarterback Brock Purdy who joins the list of short-list finalists.
No running back has won the league MVP award since 2012, when Adrian Peterson nearly broke the single-season rushing record. In the past 20 years, only two other running backs have won it — LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006, and Shaun Alexander in 2005.
The odds will shift and change from week to week. The reality is that, once we get to the end of the regular season and know which teams have secured the top seeds, the short list of serious candidates will be obvious.
