Three years ago today, the Panthers signed their new franchise face. Christian McCaffrey, the No. 8 overall pick, inked his first deal and became the first player in the 2017 class to finalize his rookie deal. 
[RELATED: PFR’s 2021 Option Tracker For The 2017 NFL Draft Class]
McCaffrey, per one NFL GM who spoke with ESPN’s Adam Schefter, had “the best combine workout” he’s ever seen. “Ever.” The Panthers more or less agreed, selecting him to bolster an offense that badly needed his blend of running ability and pass-catching acumen. In 2016, the Panthers ranked just 25th in DVOA. With McCaffrey to take the torch from established veteran Jonathan Stewart, they were off and running.
Heading into the draft, McCaffrey was a wanted man. The Broncos tried to make a legacy pick for Ed McCaffrey’s son with an offer to move up from No. 20. The Eagles, at No. 14, also wanted him. Ditto for several other clubs. Too bad, GM Marty Hurney said.
McCaffrey made his mark as a receiver immediately. As a rookie, he hauled in 80 catches for 651 yards, including a ten-catch game against the Eagles, just to rub it in (though, the Eagles won 28-23 thanks to two Zach Ertz touchdowns). As an NFL sophomore, the Stanford product stepped up his game to a whole new level – nearly 1,110 yards rushing, 107 catches for 867 yards, and 13 total touchdowns. And, last year, he was just flat out ridiculous: 1,387 yards on the ground, 116 catches for 1,005 yards, and 19 TDs all together. Similar to Le’Veon Bell in his prime years, McCaffrey has solidified himself as an elite RB1 and a top-level WR2, all rolled into one.
McCaffrey’s first contract paid him roughly $17.2MM over four years with a signing bonus of ~$10.7MM. This year, the Panthers rewarded him by effectively bypassing the fifth-year option process. CMC is now the highest-paid running back in NFL history thanks to his four-year, $64MM deal. That’s good for an average annual value of $16MM and a commitment through the 2025 season. (And, to the Panthers credit, they’ll be reasonably well protected against any unforeseen snags. The deal has $30MM fully guaranteed with $38MM in practical guarantees.)
The Eagles (Derek Barnett) and Broncos (Garett Bolles) wish they could go back in time and make a Godfather offer for CMC, but hindsight is 20/20 and rocket ships don’t have rear views. Today, the Panthers’ new head coach is pretty happy with how it all turned out.
“To label him a running back, that’s not respectful to him,” Matt Rhule said earlier this year. “He’s a tailback/wideout. He can do it all. I’m anxious to get him out there and to continue to build this thing around him.”
“The Eagles (Derek Barnett) and Broncos (Garett Bolles) wish they could go back in time and make a Godfather offer for CMC, but hindsight is 20/20 and rocket ships don’t have rear views”.
I think they are called Starships now Zach, and they don’t need a rear view since they have a holodeck to go back in time.
yeah, i was hoping the Eagles would take CMC
Hey, always remember Barnett recovered the fumble.
Unpopular Opinion: get a couple more years out of him and trade him. Definitely not an easy decision but trade him at his peak value and get picks to build a contender for the long haul. If a team is willing to pony up couple 1sts and other picks plus some young players with a couple years on rookie deals.
With his sheer volume of touches, that’s not a bad idea. We’ve seen what happened to the likes of Steven Jackson and Maurice Jones-Drew. After a couple of spectacular seasons, their bodies started to break down. It’s all about selling high…
I’m sure there are more teams than just the eagles and the broncos who wish they could do that. I will say for the eagles, Barnett picked up a huge fumble late in the super bowl. Maybe someone else would have picked it up, maybe not. But that was a crucial point in the game for that pick up.
Also, look at the teams in front of the panthers, how many of them did not pick up the 5th year option?
Bears, 49ers, Jaguars, Titans.. other than the titans, the other teams would be better with McCaffrey
Dave Gettleman actually handled this draft not Marty Hurney. Though Dave was fired later in the offseason. Dave never traded down so the Broncos and Eagles never stood a chance. Would’ve been interesting to see if Hurney was in charge and got the same offers.