![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2186677185.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPatrick McDermott\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Christian McCaffrey fell 70 spots on the NFL list of the top-100 players<\/p>\n
Christian McCaffrey\u2019s injury-plagued 2024 season caused him to take a massive slide in the NFL\u2019s top-100 players list.<\/p>\n
The San Francisco 49ers<\/a> superstar running back dropped to No. 73 on the top-100 list, a shocking 70-spot drop from the 2023 list.<\/p>\n McCaffrey, of course, missed all but four games a season ago and only averaged 50.5 rushing yards per game in his 2024 season. The 29-year-old posted career lows in carries (50) and all-purpose yards (348).<\/p>\n Why Was Christian McCaffrey ranked No. 73 on the NFL\u2019s Top-100 List?<\/p>\n McCaffrey has been a fixture on the top-100 list, peaking at No. 3 a year ago after he won the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year and finished third in NFL MVP voting while helping the Niners reach the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n Still, McCaffrey\u2019s drop was a shocking development that fans \u2014 and rivals \u2014 reacted strongly to.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like just because his season got cut short doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t deserve to be in the top-100,\u201d Dante Miller, running back of the New York Giants<\/a> said. \u201cHe\u2019s still a top-100 player, even if [his season] got cut short, because of the type of production he does bring to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as he\u2019s got a helmet on, he deserves a spot in the top-100,\u201d Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> running back Will Shipley said.<\/p>\n The voting on the top-100 list is done by McCaffrey\u2019s peers, NFL players. So even though he undoubtedly dropped the farthest of any player on the 2025 list, his presence still shows some respect.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gives me nightmares,\u201d Eagles linebacker Zack Baun said. \u201cI was transitioning to off-the-ball backer, and it was like my second year in the league. We were playing Carolina [when McCaffrey was there], and he messed me up multiple times \u2014 just the slipperiness and elusiveness.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a tough tackle.\u201d<\/p>\n McCaffrey, who appeared at No. 5 on the ESPN-compiled list of best running backs as deemed by coaches, executives and scouts, will be lower than that on the NFL Network-aired list.<\/p>\n His peers still spoke glowingly of McCaffrey\u2019s skill, work ethic and passion for football in interviews compiled by NFL Films.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to account for him in so many ways,\u201d said Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, who replaced McCaffrey as Offensive Player of the Year in 2024. \u201cHe can run routes like a receiver. People don\u2019t talk about it enough, but [he\u2019s] one of the better in-between-the-tackles runners.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing him personally, knowing his mindset, and the ways he\u2019s willed things and his competitive nature just takes it over the top.\u201d<\/p>\n What Did Brock Purdy Say About Christian McCaffrey?<\/p>\n Purdy was the only 49ers player interviewed to speak about McCaffrey, but the Niners quarterback did not hold back on the compliments.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Do-it-all,\u201d Purdy said. \u201cHe\u2019s just the grittiest guy I think we\u2019ve got on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n Purdy also noted McCaffrey\u2019s versatility and how he is a leader in the 49ers locker room.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can catch [the ball] out of the backfield, line up at receiver and catch the ball and obviously run the ball,\u201d Purdy said. \u201c[He can] break tackles, spin off guys.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody looks up to him with the passion that he plays with.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tPat Pickens<\/a> is an experienced sports writer and media personality who has written for outlets like NHL.com, the Associated Press, the New York Times and USA Today. He covers the NFL, NBA, NHL and NBA as a breaking news contributor at Heavy. More about Pat Pickens<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on 49ers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Patrick McDermott\/Getty Images Christian McCaffrey fell 70 spots on the NFL list of the top-100 players Christian McCaffrey\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":["post-6368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\u25b6\ufe0f\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/512.png=s64.png\")
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