The San Francisco 49ers have always been a run-first offense under head coach Kyle Shanahan. However, it got taken to a new level when they made a deal with the Carolina Panthers for Christian McCaffrey just ahead of the 2022 NFL trade deadline.
Coming off a 2023 season that saw him win NFL Offensive Player of the Year, he’s proven to be a spark that set the blaze in the 49ers’ vaunted running attack.
With that in mind, it’s time to take a look back at the trade and figure out just how badly the 49ers won this deal with the Panthers.
Looking Back at the Christian McCaffrey Trade
McCaffrey was traded on Oct. 20, 2022, before the deadline.
What did the Panthers earn in exchange? They received:
- 2023 second-round pick, No. 61 overall (TE Brenton Strange)
- 2023 third-round pick, No. 93 overall (TE Darnell Washington)
- 2023 fourth-round pick, No. 132 overall (EDGE Nick Herbig)
- 2024 fifth-round pick, No. 157 overall (CB Chau Smith Wade)
The Panthers packaged the No. 61 pick in their trade-up with the Chicago Bears to secure the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, which they used to draft QB Bryce Young. Carolina also traded third-round picks No. 93 and No. 132 to the Pittsburgh Steelers to move up to No. 80 and select EDGE DJ Johnson.
The deal also enabled the 49ers to send RB Jeff Wilson Jr. to the Miami Dolphins, gaining a fifth-round pick in return.
Who Won the McCaffrey Trade?
Christian McCaffrey’s impact was especially evident when the 49ers turned to Brock Purdy, their third-string quarterback.
After his 2022 trade, McCaffrey recorded four 100-yard rushing games, including 119-yard performances in wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks, the latter coming in the playoffs. His versatility and relentless running helped keep the 49ers competitive until their NFC Championship loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
In his first full season in Shanahan’s zone-read system in 2023, McCaffrey excelled, rushing for a career-high 1,459 yards and helping the 49ers rank third in the league in rushing yards during their run to Super Bowl 58.
Equally effective as a receiver, McCaffrey added 564 receiving yards, finishing the season with 2,023 all-purpose yards — the second 2,000-yard season of his career. He was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year and made his first Super Bowl appearance.
In the end, McCaffrey signed a two-year, $38 million extension over the summer before the 2024 season.
How have the Panthers fared since the trade? Not great, as they hit a league-worst 2-15 record in 2023 and ranked 30th in rushing touchdowns. Chuba Hubbard has emerged as a solid running back for them, but Carolina is nowhere close to competing in comparison to San Francisco.
Bryce Young struggled in his rookie season, facing widespread criticism for his performance. However, he has gotten better over the years, and many believe he can be the Panthers’ franchise quarterback.
Miles Sanders, signed to replace McCaffrey on a four-year, $25.4 million deal, struggled as a free agent acquisition, totaling just 432 rushing yards. Carolina then faced a pressing need for playmakers around Bryce Young, and McCaffrey would have offered a valuable veteran presence had they retained him.
However, with Hubbard, Rico Dowdle, Xavier Legette, and Tetairoa McMillan on their roster in 2025, Young has enough good players around him.
In hindsight, it’s clear the 49ers won the trade. McCaffrey helped power San Francisco to an NFC Championship appearance and then the Super Bowl over two seasons. He also signed a new deal that locks him into the Bay Area for two more years, freeing him from a Panthers contract that would have ended in 2025.
In 37 appearances for the 49ers since his trade, McCaffrey has rushed for 2,743 yards and 21 touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. He has also recorded 180 receptions for 1,618 yards and 14 touchdowns. Heading into Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season, McCaffrey is the 27th-ranked RB in the league based on PFSN’s Running Back Impact metric.
The 2022 midseason blockbuster trade has also influenced the running back market across the league. It resulted in the Philadelphia Eagles going all out to sign Saquon Barkley in free agency, who then helped the franchise win a Super Bowl.
