Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
#20. Christian McCaffrey
Panthers stats: 64 games, 3,980 rush yards, 32 TDs; 3,292 receiving yards, 18 TDs; 1X Pro Bowl, 1X All-Pro
Career stats: 112 games, 7,589 rush yards, 62 TDs; 5,390 receiving yards, 36 TDs; 4X Pro Bowl, 3X All-Pro
For many Panthers fans, Christian McCaffrey is like an ex-love interest we once dated, nearly married, then sadly watched the relationship deteriorate, then end. But four years later we are still scrolling through their Instagram, bumping into them occasionally in our shared social circles, wistfully remembering the good times, and tormenting ourselves with “what if?”
Christian, we miss you. We cherished our time together. We’re happy for you that you’ve been able to move on and are flourishing in San Francisco, but deep down inside we wish you were still here. We wish that we had the football equivalent relationship of marriage, 2.2 kids, and a house with a white picket fence on Mint Street.
Alas, what could have been.
Christian McCaffrey was one of the most exciting and productive players to ever play for the Carolina Panthers. He was the team’s first round pick, No. 8 overall, in the 2017 draft after a stellar college career at Stanford.
Carolina brought him along slowly as a runner in his 2017 rookie campaign. Running back Jonathan Stewart and quarterback Cam Newton did most of the heavy lifting with between-the-tackles running, but even then over 16 games McCaffrey still had 117 carries for 435 yards and two touchdowns. But where he excelled was as a pass catcher, reeling in 80 receptions for 651 yards and five scores.
It was obvious early on that the Panthers had landed a lethal dual-threat dynamo.
In his 2018 sophomore season he rushed for 1,098 yards with 867 receiving yards on 107 receptions and 13 total touchdowns as the Panthers went 7-9. He earned All-Pro Second Team honors but missed the Pro Bowl.
In 2019 McCaffrey absolutely dominated the NFL. He rushed for 1,387 yards while averaging 4.8 yards per carry and scoring 15 touchdowns. He reeled in 116 receptions for 1,005 yards and four more scores as the Panthers went 5-11. He was a Pro Bowler, All-Pro First Team, and placed third in the Offensive Player of the Year voting.
Among his accolades listed on the Panthers website, he was the fastest player in NFL history to reach 3,000 rushing and receiving yards. His 116 receptions were the most ever by a running back. He became just the third player in league history with 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in the same season. His 2,392 scrimmage yards in 2019 ranks No. 3 in NFL history.
True, the Panthers went just 12-20 in McCaffrey’s two dominant seasons in 2018 and 2019, but the lack of team success wasn’t CMC’s fault. Plus, McCaffrey appeared durable after appearing in every one of the Panthers 48 games over his first three seasons.
It looked like he would be a Carolina Panther for life, elevate the team to future glory, then ride off to the Hall of Fame.
And then things took a regrettable turn in 2020 and 2021.
Injuries plagued CMC over those two years and he appeared in just 10 total games. And the Panthers kept losing, going 10-23 as the franchise aimlessly cycled between quarterbacks and coaching staffs.
Despite all of this, Carolina extended McCaffrey in 2020 on a four-year, $64 million deal, indicating their long-term commitment to the team’s only viable offensive weapon and fan favorite.
The 2022 season began much as the seasons before it had, with too many Panthers losses. Carolina was 1-5 to begin the year but a now-healthy CMC was still his versatile, dominant self with 670 scrimmage yards on a terrible offense.
And then the Panthers shockingly traded him mid-season to the San Francisco 49ers for a discount variety pack of “meh” draft picks in the second, third, fourth, and fifth rounds.
Since joining the 49ers during the 2022 season, McCaffrey has been flat-out dominant. His 2024 campaign was limited to four games due to injury, but outside of that he has been an All-Pro First Team player and Top 5 MVP candidate.
As Panthers fans, most of us still root for Christian McCaffrey and fondly remember the good old days when the generational dual-threat running back lit up the scoreboard in Carolina. Many of us wish he was still here.
If only there had been more winning.
If only he had been able to stay healthy.
If only the front office and ownership hadn’t been so inept.
If only.
