Christian McCaffrey Is Already Entering 49ers Running Back History

It is funny to think that Christian McCaffrey has been with the San Francisco 49ers for less than four seasons but will already be considered one of the better running backs in the franchise's history. He has just 48 games played for the 49ers and is already ninth-all time in rushing yards in their franchise history in rushing yards.

Christian McCaffrey is climbing the San Francisco 49ers record books

McCaffrey has 3,609 yards. When you add in his 2,098 yards receiving, he already has more yards from scrimmage than both Kevan Barlow and J.D. Smith.

Still, from just a rushing yards perspective, he is only five yards behind Barlow for eighth in franchise history. That will happen in Week 1. McCaffrey is also expected to pass up Hugh McElhenny with just over 600 more yards, and 761 more yards on the ground will have him pass Smith for sixth all-time.

It will be a little bit tougher for McCaffrey to crack the top five, but he could do it. He needs 1,926 yards to catch Garrison Hearst for fifth. Considering he has one year with 1,202 yards and one year with 1,459, he could certainly accomplish this within the next two seasons. However, McCaffrey also has a 202-yard season on his resume. He is also age 30 and coming off a career-high in touches.

Interestingly enough, Hearst is the only running back in the top ten to average more rushing yards per game than McCaffrey as well. The top four players have at least 121 career starts for the 49ers. Hearst had 73, and McCaffrey will not finish anywhere near 100 games played for the 49ers.

Still, it would only take McCaffrey 2,300 yards to top Ken Willard, who has 125 games for the 49ers. McCaffrey could do it with 32 more solid starts, so about 80 games played.

McCaffrey is currently fifth amongst these runners in receiving yards. He is just 58 yards behind Willard, but would need 568 to catch McElhenny for a top-three spot. McCaffrey had 924 yards last year, but averaged 525 yards per season with the 49ers. So, he could catch McElhenny with something similar to an average season. Frank Gore is under 800 yards away, but Roger Craig is over 2,300 yards away.

It is fair to think that in the next two seasons, McCaffrey can climb to fourth in rushing and second in receiving by a running back.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/49ers/onsi as Christian McCaffrey Is Already Entering 49ers Running Back History.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 8:00 AM.