Christian McCaffrey expected to play around 20 snaps in his 49ers debut, report says

Christian McCaffrey will make his debut for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and it looks like he’ll be pretty involved in the proceedings.

According to FOX Sports, McCaffrey has studied the game plan and is should play around 20 shots, although it could play more depending on how things go. An earlier report from ESPN said the Niners had prepared a set of plays for McCaffrey, who was acquired Thursday in a trade from the Carolina Panthers.

Regardless of the instantaneous volume, McCaffrey seems likely to be used in high leverage situations. His passing skills are what sets him apart from other running backs on San Francisco’s roster, so he seems more likely to be used in those situations than on plays where he receives the ball the same way Jeff does. Wilson.

The versatility McCaffrey offers San Francisco also lends itself to creative packages in his debut, perhaps with McCaffrey lining up in the slot or on the outside while Deebo Samuel is in the backfield. It’s possible that the attention given to him in these rosters opens things up below for Samuel, Aiyuk and George Kittle.

McCaffrey should also see some use of the red zone, where the Niners can take advantage of the unpredictability that comes with being in the backfield. San Francisco has been pretty creative with the scoring range in the past, and adding McCaffrey to the mix should allow Kyle Shanahan to devise even more unique ways to get the ball to their point guards in a open space.