SANTA CLARA — Once the 49ers knew acquiring Christian McCaffrey became a possibility a couple weeks ago, the wheels must have started spinning for Kyle Shanahan. Widely regarded as one of football’s most creative offensive minds, Shanahan has a couple of unique weapons to line up now that McCaffrey has joined forces with Deebo Samuel following Thursday’s trade with the Carolina Panthers.
Even All-Pro offensive lineman Trent Williams can’t wait to see what magic Shanahan pulls out of his hat.
“My wheel’s spinning and I ain’t never even drew up a play,” Williams said. “But I can only imagine what he’s gonna do.”
McCaffrey is the most recent player in NFL history, and one of three ever, to rack up both 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. He accomplished the feat in 2019, when he rushed for 1,387 yards (4.8 per carry), and caught 116 passes for 1,005 yards, totaling 19 touchdowns.
Last season, Deebo put together a remarkable campaign when he led the league with 18.2 yards per catch and also set an NFL receiver record with eight rushing touchdowns.
Now, arguably football’s top two dual threats are on the same squad. Sheesh.
“It’s an honor to be compared with him,” McCaffrey said of Deebo. “I’m happy to share the locker room with him and I think we’ll do some exciting things.”
Shanahan echoed the strong statement from general manager John Lynch, who said McCaffrey was a “perfect player” for Shanahan’s system. Shanahan loves to try and exploit matchups and put defenses in awkward situations or advantageous one-on-one battles.
Deebo lines up in the backfield and McCaffrey is a superb pass-catcher, so they could be moving all over the field in the Niners offense.
“I’ve watched them for a long time,” McCaffrey said of the 49ers. “In my opinion, the best run game and one of the most explosive offenses in the league. … How could you not want to play here as an offensive weapon? I’m extremely fired up.”
Likewise, Shanahan had some high praise for his new addition.
“I don’t think there’s anything he can’t do,” Shanahan said. “Whether the pass game, run game or blocking. I think he’s a very talented player. Watching how he plays, he’s a very smart player. He always gets to the right hole, he’s very smooth.”
McCaffrey landed in San Jose about an hour before the team’s practice Friday. He wrapped up his physical and was able to walk out on the field to watch the end of the session, as he sported a No. 23 jersey.
As of Friday afternoon, Shanahan said he still hadn’t spoken to McCaffrey to see if he’ll be ready for Sunday. McCaffrey practiced with the Panthers twice this week, so his health isn’t an issue.
“The good thing about the game being Sunday is that you still have two days,” McCaffrey said. “You can process a lot in two days and hopefully be ready to go. My job is to learn as much as humanly possible in the next two days and get ready to play a football game.”
So McCaffrey and Shanahan will put their nose to the grind stone for the next 45 hours before Sunday’s 1:25 p.m. PT kickoff. The 26-year-old said he’s eager to play for Shanahan, who used to babysit him growing up, as McCaffrey’s dad, Ed, played for Shanahan’s dad, Mike, with the Denver Broncos.
“I’ve watched him do some unbelievable things with some great running backs,” McCaffrey said.
While McCaffrey and Deebo should get their fare share of touches, Williams also thinks that the rest of the 49ers will benefit by having another playmaker on the field to worry about.
“I automatically think about the impact it’ll have for guys like (Brandon) Aiyuk and guys like (George) Kittle,” Williams said. “A lot of those guys, it’s so easy to hide them when you got two, big immediate threats and you gotta account for them and rotate to where they’re motioning to. … We got the perfect pieces to keep everybody honest.”
So, does that mean we will see the hulking 6-foot-5, 320-pound Williams romping around the field for pancake blocks on more screen attempts and crafty plays?
“I hope so,” Williams said. “I can imagine that Kyle is gonna draw up some interesting schemes. I always love moving around, getting out in space. It’s kinda one of the things that I enjoy most about playing offensive line.”
