Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Christian McCaffrey was born on June 7th, 1996 in Castle Rock, Colorado. He is a running back in the NFL. 

McCaffrey is the son of former Stanford and NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey and former Stanford soccer star Lisa McCaffrey. He attended Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. McCaffrey played running back, wide receiver, cornerback, and punter. He broke numerous Colorado high school records including total career touchdowns with 141, career all-purpose yards with 8,845, career touchdown receptions with 47, and single-season all-purpose yards 3,032. He was the Gatorade Football Player of the Year for Colorado in both 2012 and 2013. McCaffrey was also a standout sprinter on the track & field team. As a sophomore, he placed second in the 100-meter dash at the Mountain Vista Boulder Invitational with a career-best time of 10.75 seconds. Considered one of the best one hundred football players in his national high school class, he was selected as a 2014 U.S. Army All-American. He was rated by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit and was ranked as the third-best all-purpose back in his class and 77th best player overall. He committed to Stanford University to play college football.

McCaffrey played in all 13 games as a true freshman at Stanford, in 2014. In his collegiate debut, he had a 52-yard receiving touchdown against UC Davis. He finished the year with 300 rushing yards on 43 carries and 251 receiving yards on 17 receptions with two total touchdowns. McCaffrey had a breakout sophomore season in 2015. He broke Barry Sanders's NCAA record of 3,250 all-purpose yards, finishing with 3,864. McCaffrey ranked second in the nation with 2,019 rushing yards, becoming the first Stanford player to rush for 2,000 in a season. He also set numerous other Stanford records during the season including rushing yards in a single game with 243 and all-purpose yards in a game 461.

McCaffrey was a consensus All-American and was the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, Pac-12 Player of the Year, and Paul Hornung Award, winner. He also finished second to Alabama's Derrick Henry in the 2015 Heisman Trophy voting. During the 2016 Rose Bowl against Iowa, McCaffrey became the first player to rush for over 100 yards and have over 100 yards receiving in a Rose Bowl game. Overall, he set a new Rose Bowl record with 368 all-purpose yards, breaking the previous record set in 2012 by Wisconsin's Jared Abbrederis.

Through the end of the 2016 regular season, McCaffrey led the nation in all-purpose yards. He led the Pac-12 in rushing yards and ranked fourth in the country in rushing yards per game. After being injured during the Cardinal's 42–16 loss to Washington State on October 8th, McCaffrey sat out for the team's 17–10 victory in the 2016 edition of the Notre Dame-Stanford rivalry the following week. McCaffrey set a Stanford single-game rushing record with 284 rushing yards against California. McCaffrey was named to the 2016 All-Pac-12 first team and was named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year. After the season, he decided to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

The Carolina Panthers selected McCaffrey in the first round with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. McCaffrey became the only rookie running back in NFL history with at least 70 receptions, and five touchdown catches before being joined by Alvin Kamara later in the season. He finished his rookie season with 435 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 80 receptions, 651 receiving yards, and five receiving touchdowns. In two seasons with the Panthers, McCaffrey has run for more than 1500 yards on 336 attempts for nine touchdowns in addition to 187 receptions for 1,518 yards and 11 touchdowns. In week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons, McCaffrey broke Matt Forte's record for most receptions by a running back in a single season, finishing with 101 rushing yards and 77 receiving yards as the Panthers lost 10–24. McCaffrey finished the 2018 season with 1,098 rushing yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 107 receptions, 867 receiving yards, and six receiving touchdowns. McCaffrey became the Panthers franchise record holder of all-purpose yards in a season with 1,965. McCaffrey was named to Second Team All-Pro for his performance in 2018. 

On April 16, 2020, McCaffrey signed a four-year, $64 million contract extension with the Panthers through the 2025 season, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history.

McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers on October 20, 2022, in exchange for a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and a 5th round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Against the Cardinals in Week 4 of the 2023 season, McCaffrey had 20 carries for 106 yards and three touchdowns, and seven receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. With his first touchdown in the game, and his 13th straight game with a touchdown, McCaffrey broke Jerry Rice's franchise record for most consecutive games with a touchdown. He was named both FedEx Ground Player of the Week (for a fourth straight time), and NFC Offensive Player of the Week.  In Week 8, against the Cincinnati Bengals, McCaffrey had 12 rushes for 54 yards and one touchdown, as well as six receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown in the 31–17 loss. With a 2-yard rushing score, McCaffrey tied Lenny Moore's NFL record for the most games in a row with a touchdown score recorded, having had 17 straight games with a touchdown. However, the streak would be broken during their Week 10 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, in which he only recorded 16 carries for 95 yards, and six receptions for 47 yards.

During Week 12 against the Seahawks, McCaffrey recorded 19 carries for 114 yards and two touchdowns, as well as five receptions for 25 yards. For the performance, he was again named FedEx Ground Player of the Week. Against the Seahawks in Week 14, McCaffrey recorded 16 carries for 145 yards and was named FedEx Ground Player of the Week for the fifth time this season. Against the Cardinals in Week 15, he recorded 18 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown, as well as five receptions for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Against the Washington Commanders, McCaffrey recorded 14 carries for 64 yards, as well as four receptions for 27 yards. During the second half of the game, he would be taken out with a mild calf strain. Despite it being minor, he would still be designated as one of the starters to sit out for the season finale against the Rams. In the 49ers' playoff game against the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round, McCaffrey had 17 carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns, as well as seven receptions for 30 yards. McCaffrey scored the game-winning touchdown on a 6-yard run in the 24–21 victory.