Christian McCaffrey played in just 10 games the last two years while battling various injuries. This season he dominated in 17 games with two teams and earned a second-place finish in the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year voting. Seahawks QB Geno Smith took home the award.
McCaffrey in six games with the Panthers and 11 with the 49ers put up 1,880 scrimmage yards with 13 total touchdowns. He also threw a TD in his second game with San Francisco after they acquired him in a mid-season trade.
QB Brock Purdy received most of the headlines, but McCaffrey’s arrival in San Francisco helped spark their late-season offensive resurgence. Before McCaffrey arrived the 49ers were averaging only 17.4 points per game. They put up 29.8 per game after his arrival.
Still, Smith’s impact in Seattle was enough to get him 28 first-place votes and a total of 171 points in the NFL’s new three-place voting system. McCaffrey’s 110 points with 12 first-place votes landed him in second place. Giants RB Saquon Barkley had four first-place votes and 86 points.
