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Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey and his productivity since entering the league have been something to marvel at. In his rookie year, the former Stanford RB played in all 16 games (starting 10) and had 435 yards rushing on 117 carries with two TDs. He also had 80 receptions (targeted 113 times) with 651 receiving yards and five TDs. In total, McCaffrey had 1,086 yards from scrimmage with seven total TDs. He was in the top 15 that year in receptions and top 25 in targets.
In 2018, McCaffrey was third in the NFL with 1,965 yards from scrimmage and 13 total TDs. The RB had 1,098 yards rushing and was sixth in the NFL that year with seven TDs on 219 carries. On the receiving side, 107 receptions on 124 targets with 867 receiving yards and six TDs. The 107 receptions were good for eighth in the league while his 124 targets landed him in the top 20 in the league.
For McCaffrey, year three was his breakout as he became both a Pro-Bowler and an All-Pro in 2019. He had 1,387 yards on the ground on 287 carries with 15 TDs while adding 116 receptions on 142 targets with 1,005 receiving yards and four TDs. He was third in the NFL in rushing yards, fourth in carries, second in receptions, and eighth in targets.
Since then, for McCaffrey, he has not been the same RB we have seen over the previous two years. In 2018 and 2019, he started every game for the Panthers, including over 90% of all the offensive snaps. McCaffrey was involved in just 71% of the snaps on offense in 2020 and 60%, thus far, in 2021. He has just 665 yards rushing with six TDs combined from 2020 and 2021. Entering 2021, there were a lot of high hopes, especially given the contract he signed last year.
Inside Christian McCaffrey’s contract
In 2020, McCaffrey signed to a four-year contract extension worth $64 million, giving him the largest contract for a RB in NFL history. McCaffrey is signed with the Panthers through the 2025 season. He had a 2020 option with a 2021 fifth-year option remaining on his rookie deal. His contract also includes $30M guaranteed at signing (signing bonus + 2020 salary + $7.7M of 2021 salary), $8.1M of his 2022 salary is fully guaranteed on March 21, 2021 (injury guaranteed now), along with $1M of his 2023 salary (guaranteed for injury).
