Carolina is bringing in Norv Turner to run the offense. How might that affect the role of Christian McCaffrey? McCaffrey caught 80 passes as a rookie, with fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula using him in a variety of ways – lining him up all over the place.
No doubt there will be changes under Turner, who tends to be a believer in establishing a running game (setting up play-action opportunities). But I wouldn’t worry too much about McCaffrey being overlooked or phased out of the offense. McCaffrey might be one of the top half-dozen pass-catching backs in the league, and I’m sure Turner won’t overlook those abilities.
Turner has used running backs as pass catchers in the past. Going back a few years, but both Larry Centers and LaMont Jordan had seasons with 70-plus receptions under Turner.
In Turner’s last 20 seasons (as either a head coach or offensive coordinator) his leading running backs have averaged 52 catches for 408 yards. McCaffrey catches the ball better than most of those guys.
| NORV TURNER: PASS-CATCHING RUNNING BACKS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 1997 | Brian Mitchell, Wash. | 36 | 438 | 12.2 | 1 |
| 1998 | Brian Mitchell, Wash. | 44 | 306 | 7.0 | 0 |
| 1999 | Larry Centers, Wash. | 69 | 544 | 7.9 | 3 |
| 2000 | Larry Centers, Wash. | 81 | 600 | 7.4 | 3 |
| 2001 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 59 | 367 | 6.2 | 0 |
| 2002 | Ricky Williams, Mia. | 47 | 363 | 7.7 | 1 |
| 2003 | Ricky Williams, Mia. | 50 | 351 | 7.0 | 1 |
| 2004 | Amos Zereoue, Oak. | 39 | 284 | 7.3 | 0 |
| 2005 | LaMont Jordan, Oak. | 70 | 563 | 8.0 | 2 |
| 2006 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 61 | 485 | 8.0 | 1 |
| 2007 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 60 | 475 | 7.9 | 3 |
| 2008 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 52 | 426 | 8.2 | 1 |
| 2009 | Darren Sproles, S.D. | 45 | 497 | 11.0 | 4 |
| 2010 | Darren Sproles, S.D. | 59 | 520 | 8.8 | 2 |
| 2011 | Mike Tolbert, S.D. | 54 | 433 | 8.0 | 2 |
| 2012 | Ronnie Brown, S.D. | 49 | 371 | 7.6 | 0 |
| 2013 | Chris Ogbonnaya, Clev. | 48 | 343 | 7.1 | 2 |
| 2014 | Matt Asiata, Minn. | 44 | 312 | 7.1 | 1 |
| 2015 | Adrian Peterson, Minn. | 30 | 222 | 7.4 | 0 |
| 2016 | Jerrick McKinnon, Minn. | 43 | 255 | 5.9 | 2 |
McCaffrey looks iffier as a runner. He’s a smaller guy who’s better in space, so I don’t think they’ll ever commit to him as a full-time back. Turner indicated as a much during a sit-down earlier in the week.
"That hard-nosed running between the tackles he can certainly do, but I don't know that's what you want to lead with him,” Turner told a writer for the team’s official website.
In nine of Turner’s last 20 seasons, the running back who led the team in rushing didn’t catch as many passes as some other back on the team. (Those guys have black dots in front of their names below). And in my estimation, Turner has employed a multiple-back approach in all but one of his last eight seasons.
At a minimum, I expect McCaffrey to catch 55-60 passes, but probably some other back (Jonathan Stewart, most likely) will finish with more carries and more rushing yards.
| NORV TURNER'S LEADING RUSHERS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Run Yds | TD |
| 1997 | • Terry Allen, Wash. | 724 | 4 |
| 1998 | • Terry Allen, Wash. | 700 | 2 |
| 1999 | • Stephen Davis, Wash. | 1,405 | 17 |
| 2000 | • Stephen Davis, Wash. | 1,318 | 11 |
| 2001 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 1,236 | 10 |
| 2002 | Ricky Williams, Mia. | 1,853 | 16 |
| 2003 | Ricky Williams, Mia. | 1,372 | 9 |
| 2004 | Amos Zereoue, Oak. | 425 | 3 |
| 2005 | LaMont Jordan, Oak. | 1,025 | 9 |
| 2006 | Frank Gore, S.F. | 1,695 | 8 |
| 2007 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 1,474 | 15 |
| 2008 | LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 1,110 | 11 |
| 2009 | • LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D. | 730 | 12 |
| 2010 | • Mike Tolbert, S.D. | 735 | 11 |
| 2011 | • Ryan Mathews, S.D. | 1,091 | 6 |
| 2012 | • Ryan Mathews, S.D. | 707 | 1 |
| 2013 | • Willis McGahee, Clev. | 377 | 2 |
| 2014 | Matt Asiata, Minn. | 570 | 9 |
| 2015 | Adrian Peterson, Minn. | 1,485 | 11 |
| 2016 | Jerrick McKinnon, Minn. | 539 | 2 |
—Ian Allan