Christian McCaffrey Thread: CMC Extension

[Generic Username]

I always wondered why he was part of the Big 3 RBs of this class and D Cook was on the outside looking in (generally speaking, of course). To me he was always described as D Sproles 2.0 with the potential to be Reggae Bush. I think if you drafted him expecting long term RB2/FLEX usage, you're happy...if you drafted under the assumption of bellcow RB1 stuff, probably disappointed you passed on either D Cook or J Mixon (and definitely K Hunt)

[jaykay22]

Absolutely terrible IRL pick so far for the Panthers. The Panthers could have literally drafted Alvin Kamara in the 3rd and gotten the exact same production out of him. Scratch that, they could have traded a 4th or 5th to the Bucs for Adam Humphries and would have gotten the exact same production, without blowing the 1.08. If you target Adam Humphries 10 times a game, he'll get ya 6/65, too. I'm convinced Taywan Taylor could have done what CMC has done so far very capably, too.

As a PPR fantasy player I think he's going to be a very useful player for at least the next couple of seasons. He's on pace for 101 catches, which honestly seems more like it could be a career year already as far as catches go. I also think he might switch positions full time to WR down the road.

In the one league where I had the 1.03 I'm glad I was able to send the 1.03 and Cobb for the 1.07 and Diggs. Full PPR, and Fournette and Davis were the first 2 picks off the board when I made the trade (also came out of the draft with Foreman and Hunt in the 1st and Kamara in the 2nd).

[StableOfRBs]

Was reading this the other day, figured it was relevant: http://www.panthers.com/news/article-2/ ... c869bcb666

It seems the Panthers want to get more out of him as well but Rivera seems fairly happy with what CMC has done so far, at least enough that he's attributing the failure of the couple of examples in that article to pretty much everyone but McCaffrey (whether you agree or not, it's what the coach thinks that matters).

As for the rushing, it would probably bother me more if anyone else on the team was having any more success than McCaffrey is but Jonathan Stewart (3.0 YPC) is on pace for a career low in efficiency by .6 yards/carry and even Cam himself is on pace for the second worst rushing average of his career (last year being his worst so far). They've currently got 3 starting offensive lineman on the injury report, the center, a guard and a tackle (pretty sure the guard and tackle are both left side but don't quote me on that).

Given that CMC is averaging 6.4 attempts per game I find it very difficult to evaluate his rushing ability so far. He could have 45 carries for 250 yards instead of 114 and I'd still think it was too small of a sample size to get excited/concerned about, doubly so considering he's a 21 year old rookie and all the aforementioned issues with the line.

[lukkynumber13]

And I will be very clear about the fact that I was a big fan of his talent coming out of college. I said that watching his Stanford games, he reminded me of Shady. So just as a fan of good football, it's disappointing to see him show zero electricity. But I also said many times on these forums, his floor is that he could end up as a similar asset to Gio Bernard. And for that reason, I didn't pursue him in drafts.

[Vcize]

I have no idea what the poster a few posts up is talking about with his awesome agility and burst. Maybe in college and at the combine but he has shown none of that in the NFL. He basically catches the ball, jogs up field to the nearest defender, and then falls down or runs out of bounds. He rarely seems to even TRY and make anyone miss.

The statement that he "makes defenders miss like clockwork" literally almost made me laugh when reading it because I've watched most of the Panthers games and in allllllllll these touches I can recall exactly one play where I thought he made a nice move to make a defender miss. Meanwhile I see rookies like Hunt and Mixon do it a half dozen times each game.

Sure, C-Mac hasn't made any special plays so far in the NFL. But, he definitely has the ability to make defenders miss and has big-time explosion. These traits are some of the main reasons the Panthers drafted him.


That ability didn't disappear overnight. So yes, from a talent and ability standpoint, I think he's absolutely better than Bernard and Vereen. But for the role he's going to play on a team, he's not worth the draft price.

Sure, and that's one of the reasons I was high on him coming in. But those kind of moves have been completely absent in the NFL. It's almost bizarre. It's not even like he's making nice cuts and then getting gang tackled after, or even that the cuts aren't working, he's just not even attempting to do it at all.

I don't really know what the problem is. Maybe he's one of those guys that takes a while to adjust to the speed of the NFL game. Maybe he's one of those guys that will never adjust to it. Either way, it's worrisome. Heading into the year I figured at this point the worst case scenario we'd be talking about was "well yeah he's awesome in space, but he can't run between the tackles at all". Instead his problems have been not just between the tackles, but in space as well.

[schiewerma21]

You guys the panthers are AWFUL. Top to bottom.

The guy who said “he’s watched every panther snap” I write up the NFC south and I am sure you noticed as well he’s the focal point of every denfensive scheme. He has unquestioned been the most consistent panther on offense this season (including cam)

Negatives is obviously this kid has negative power and almost shys away from contact at times. Will go down to avoid the hit (anti fournette)

Overall though I have been impressed with cmac. He should be exactly what you drafted if you took him 1.03-1.05 in a Rookie draft. I took him 1.04 and am content with my share. I drafted an extremely safe rb2 in ppr and he’s been exactly that so far.

If you reached and used a top 2 pick (which he went 1.02 in two of my dynasty leagues) than I think your kicking yourself. 4 or later your fine

[steelman]

I was worried about him all along which is why I chose not to draft him at 1.4 or 1.5. I want my RB's to be able to actually run the ball. I'll gladly take a Woodhead kind of RB for what those types cost, but CMC was going very early in the 1st. There wasn't a chance I was paying that. He's a guy I have no interest in because of his price tag.

[onetwothree]

He's doing what I would want to see being in a PPR league and giving me a floor of about 10pts. A "regular" RB would have to rush for 100 yards to hit that mark. We're spoiled by how quickly his counterparts have started their seasons in very ideal situations.

Would be worried if Stewart was doing well but he's been just as bad behind the same line. Add to that a lack of creative play calling (where are the wheel or option routes?) and Cam's inaccuracy (good for at least a few throws whizzing over his head a game) and I think there's certainly a buy low opportunity with frustrated owners. Typical Carolina game script will afford him plenty of time on the field and targets. Give it time.

[ColdZealDonkeyStrike]

And I will be very clear about the fact that I was a big fan of his talent coming out of college. I said that watching his Stanford games, he reminded me of Shady. So just as a fan of good football, it's disappointing to see him show zero electricity. But I also said many times on these forums, his floor is that he could end up as a similar asset to Gio Bernard. And for that reason, I didn't pursue him in drafts.

Well I wouldn't get too down in him if you thought he had Shady potential. Shady looked like maybe just a Gio type player in his rookie year.

[UATahoe]

I drafted McCaffrey and i am definitely somewhat concerned but not panicking quite yet. Honestly, the entire Panther offense has been horrible and Cam has been one of the worst offenders. Their Oline has been playing musical chairs the entire season and seem to be shuffling in 2, 3 or 4 different lineup each game with injuries. I would agree with a prior comment. If Stewart were averaging 5 yards a carry i would be trying to move McCaffrey for another guy but right now i just think Carolina's offense is struggling as a whole. He is a rookie and its going to take him some time. I will say though that he has looked awesome out of the backfield catching the ball. So slightly concerned but cautiously optimistic as well once Carolina gets past the oline problems.

[Tennisbuck]

I was and just traded him straight for D Henry

[NanceUSMC]

I'm not worried about CMC.... The entire offense for my Panthers is out of whack, and it all starts up front... And to be honest, the entire team is just off...

BUT

You can't have this many of your team's superstars injured/out/banged up, without it taking a toll on the entire flow of the game and the chemistry of the team... Guys start trying to do more than they need, and it just goes bad all the way around... i.e. Samuel dropping a short pitch that was returned for a TD this weekend, or Kelvin bobbling a pass that was taken from him and returned for a TD... Guys are just off, all the way around...

But to be fair... Ryan Kalil being out hurts the entire OL... Trai Turner being banged up doesn't help... Matt Kalil has been inconsistent, at best... Kelvin has been on the injury report half the season... and, biggest of all (for the offense) Olsen is out... You're relying on rookies to save the day, and they're just not there yet... It's unfair to expect them to be... Cam is taking a beating, and the run game is averaging like a foot and a half per play... But they do show flashes of their potential, and you realize just how good this offense CAN be... I think they'll get there, but it may not be anytime soon...

This defense gave up FOUR COMPLETIONS and 2.6 YPC...

And the offense won the time of possession by SEVENTEEN MINUTES... They didn't have terrible trouble moving the ball, but they're hideously inconsistent... Don't worry about CMC... Once the offense finds itself, and the OL play stabilizes, he'll get his... But it might not be until next year...

[Ghosted]

I'm not concerned at this point, given my pre-season expectations. I would love to see him get stronger this offseason, though, but he doesn't need to be a "20 carry" guy to be a low-end rb1 most seasons. If he flirts with 80-90 receptions most years, he's going to out-produce a lot of players in this league in ppr.

[Plank]

Yeah, I'm really liking that he's leading the team in targets and rushing will come in time, that OL is banged up/struggling at the moment, and I really think Cam re-injured his shoulder in W6, I could see a lot more pistol coming down the road, especially if Cam can't throw ..

[GridironGuerilla]

...this is exactly what I expected from C-Mac. He's not a "carries" player, he's a "touches" player. He's terrible for standard leagues, but awesome for PPR where he's on pace for 101 receptions. When Carolina moves on from Jonathan Stewart, they will inevitably find an early-down RB to replace him because C-Mac isn't strong enough to take a lot of hits in between tackles.

In real NFL, it's a waste of a #8 pick because you can find so many RB's to run choice routes and catch checkdowns in the flat for less draft pedigree (Duke, Riddick, Thompson, White, etc.)

No other posts necessary.