Christian McCaffrey is carrying a very heavy load for the Carolina Panthers right now. So far this season, he’s already seen 136 touches. That raises questions about his usage and possible burnout, but for now it’s hard to be anything but extremely impressed by what he’s doing out there.
Through five games, Mcaffrey has already totaled 866 yards from scrimmage. That leads the NFL by a wide margin. In fact, the next closest player is more than 100 yards short – Dalvin Cook has 742.
That puts McCaffrey on pace to shatter a record that’s stood for 10 years. Back in 2009, Titans running back Chris Johnson had a legendary season that saw him total 2,509 total yards from scrimmage. Right now, McCaffrey is on pace to beat that mark by over 250 yards.
While the prospect of McCaffrey breaking that record is exciting, it’s worth noting that CJ2K was never able to come close to matching those numbers again. The next season, Johnson posted almost 1,000 yards fewer from scrimmage – totaling 1,591. The year after that, his numbers dipped again, and they continued to do so the rest of his career.
Not For Long might be most appropriate for running backs, who get chewed up and spit out by the league. Even the great ones. They’re the most at risk for injuries and are considered the most easily replaceable players on the roster.
McCaffrey looks like he can conquer any obstacle and run circles around the competition forever. A lot of 23 year olds appear to be invulnerable, though. McCaffrey is human, and at some point the Panthers will have to dial back his touches if they plan on keeping him around for an extension.
For now, Carolina fans should sit back and enjoy the ride. This kind of season does not come around very often.
