The San Francisco 49ers officially have themselves the most outstanding offensive player in the game—and all it cost them was a second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round pick.
On Thursday night, running back Christian McCaffrey was named the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year for the 2023 campaign. The 27-year-old, of course, played the first five full seasons of his career with the Carolina Panthers — who traded him to this year's NFC champions in the middle of 2022.
McCaffrey led the entire NFL with 1,459 rushing yards, a total that also accounts as a new career-high. The 27-year-old also led all players in touches (339), yards from scrimmage (2,023) and total touchdowns (21) while setting a few more career-bests in yards per carry (5.4), first downs (114) and receiving scores (seven).
His efforts, in addition, earned him a unanimous first-team All-Pro nod and a nomination for this year's Most Valuable Player award.
While this honor is certainly a momentous one for McCaffrey, he and the 49ers are hoping to win something a bit bigger in a few nights.
