Christian McCaffrey didn’t get a whole lot of attention for a sensational rookie season. McCaffrey’s exceptional performance in 2018 has made it impossible to ignore him any longer, though. The second-year Panthers running back has been ranked as the No. 38 best overall player in the NFL for this year by Pro Football Focus.
Here’s what PFF had to say about McCaffrey’s year.
“Christian McCaffrey finished 2018 as the best pass-catching running back in a league where catching the ball out of the backfield is as important as ever. Among running backs with at least 60 targets, McCaffrey’s receiving grade of 89.3 ranked first in the NFL. He gained an average of 1.79 yards per route run, sixth at the position.”
McCaffrey finished the year with just under 2,000 yards and 13 touchdowns from scrimmage. So far, he is the only Panthers player to make this year’s list. McCaffrey was unranked last year.
We can assume that linebacker Luke Kuechly will be one of the top 25 players revealed on the list later on, but he might be the only other Carolina player who makes the cut. Defensive tackle Kawann Short is consistently underrated by PFF and everybody else and Cam Newton’s sore throwing shoulder will probably keep him off the list, as well.
