The Carolina Panthers have kicked off training camp, and not surprisingly Christian McCaffrey is already clearly a big part of their plans.
ESPN’s David Newton reported from camp Thursday that “it is obvious from the number of short passes and screens being thrown in the running back’s direction there are big plans for him.”
He also noted how the crowd hung on every single move the rookie out of Stanford made during practice.
“He can make a simple move and there are oohs and ahs from fans on the hill overlooking the practice field at Wofford College. Defenders can’t love McCaffrey, though. He’s so fast on his cuts that it leaves them grasping for air.”
Of course, this is hardly surprising for those who watched McCaffrey set records during his tenure at Stanford before being drafted No. 8 overall this April. It’s also a continuation of what Panthers players have been saying about the son of former NFL receiver, Ed McCaffrey, who was pretty good in his own right back in the day.
Heck, we even heard that Cam Newton campaigned the Panthers to draft McCaffrey over Leonard Fournette, which tells you all you need to know about how he’s seen by his new quarterback.
Though Jonathan Stewart is expected to be the starting running back, don’t be surprised if, by the end of the season, it’s McCaffrey who’s made the bigger impact.