49ers get star RB McCaffrey for passel of picks … San Francisco served notice that the 49ers are ‘all in’ in the tight NFC West divisional race when they sent 4 picks to Carolina for star RB Christian McCaffrey. In fact, the 49ers are sending the Panthers their 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks in 2023 as well as a 5th rounder in 2024. Its a big gamble for the 49ers as McCaffrey has been banged up much of the past two seasons, but when healthy as he seems to be these days – McCaffrey is one of the most versatile weapons in the league and combined with WR Deebo Samuel and TE George Kittle gives the 49ers one of the most dynamic set of offensive playmakers in the league. In 2019, his last fully healthy season, he racked up 19 total touchdowns and nearly 2,400 yards from scrimmage, with the stunning feat of crossing 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving in the same year. The trade to the 49ers also represents a homecoming of sorts for McCaffrey who played collegiately just down the road at Stanford. At the same time, the trade means that the 49ers will be largely spectators at the 2023 draft as they had previously traded their #1 pick to Miami, although they do retain a couple of minority hiring compensatory third-round picks. For their part, in trading McCaffrey the Panthers also appear to be ‘all in’ but in their case its for a total rebuild and it gives them 6 picks in the first 4 rounds of this year’s draft, including extra selections in both the 2nd and 4th rounds. Of course, giving away their one real offensive threat also increases the odds the Panthers end up with this year’s #1 pick overall.
