ESPN Predicts 49ers Running Back Christian McCaffrey Will Have a Down Season

It is no secret– the San Francisco 49ers are a team on a mission in 2025. Last season, the team was hungrier than ever to avenge an overtime Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs in 2023– but fell well short of their goal with a 6-11 record. Injuries and offseason drama were a major contribution. This season however, things are already looking much different– with the team sorting out contract issues early and having many guys at OTAs and minicamp healthy.

One of the players who struggled with injuries last season was running back, Christian McCaffrey. Limited to only four games due to calf, achilles and knee injuries, McCaffrey is entering this season ready to go and hoping to return to his Offensive Player of the Year form. But while McCaffrey and the 49ers have high expectations for him, ESPN does not.

ESPN’s Prediction

On June 16, ESPN Fantasy Football writer, Eric Karabell, wrote an article about the upcoming season and things that could happen that should not come as a surprise. Karabell mentioned many different scenarios, but one of which was how it would not be surprising if McCaffrey had another down season.

“A healthy McCaffrey is a wonderful player, as most recently seen in 2023, but the 49ers — and fantasy managers — simply cannot count on his attendance,” Karabell said. “The 49ers must monitor his workload and hope for the best. This is a bad combination for someone likely to be an early-round draft pick. Perhaps McCaffrey, 29, returns to a high level of performance and carries the 49ers and your fantasy team, but he’s been a top-10 RB in only two of the past five seasons.”

Since getting traded to the 49ers from the Carolina Panthers midway through the 2022 season, McCaffrey has instantly helped the 49ers’ offense become one of the league’s best. After making his debut for the team during the ’22 season, the 49ers went from a 3-4 record to winning 10 straight to finish 13-4 while in 2023, the team won the NFC West for the second straight season with a 12-5 record– with McCaffrey finishing with over 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

McCaffrey’s Outlook for the Season

Entering his age-29 season, McCaffrey could be entering the twilight stages of his career- giving his workload and injury history throughout his career. But getting a longer offseason to recover and stating how good he feels heading into the fall, we could see McCaffrey return to being one of the league’s best and reignite a 49ers offense that fell stagnant late into last season. The NFC West will be a very tough division– with the NFC as a whole expected to be very competitive- but if the 49ers stay healthy and get the best version of McCaffrey, then they could re-enter the mix of being contenders.