CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Although it was overshadowed by the seven-game losing streak that killed the Carolina Panthers' season, running back Christian McCaffrey just finished an extraordinary year.
In fact, I'm going to pronounce it as the best season a running back has ever had in the Panthers' 24-year history. McCaffrey set all sorts of team and NFL records, stayed healthy despite an enormous workload and in my opinion was this team's Most Valuable Player on offense (Luke Kuechly would be the defensive MVP).
But McCaffrey, still only 22 years old, wants more. One of the things he specifically would like to do in 2019? Become a team captain. The offense will lose one, given center Ryan Kalil's retirement, and McCaffrey believes that in his third season he will be prepared to fill that void.
"Definitely," McCaffrey said when I asked him in New Orleans following Carolina's final game about his interest in a possible captainship. "I feel extremely ready. ... Eventually, followers turn into leaders. I had great guys in front of me to learn from. ... And all those little details, I'd like to carry on."
Cam Newton became a team captain in his third season, so McCaffrey would be following a similar course if teammates elect him to the role next year. Before that decision is made in late August, though, it's also fair to wonder if the Panthers are going to ask McCaffrey to shoulder the same sort of workload in 2019.
