Are NFL teams targeting Christian McCaffrey? After a string of recent illegal hits aimed at the 49ers running back, it's certainly a question on the mind of some this season.
George Kittle was asked about it Tuesday on KNBR's "Murph and Mac" show, and while the tight end isn't sure if that's the case, he invited opponents to keep it up if trying to knock McCaffrey out of the game truly is their intention.
"I haven't seen anything on tape," Kittle said. "He's a running back and he's a wide receiver. He gets the ball 25 times a game. I think that teams are trying to hit him really hard because he touches the ball almost every single time. I feel like that's what everyone's going to do. You're just targeting the guy who has the ball, and he just happens to have it more so than others.
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"I don't think teams are going out of their way, necessarily, to target him. But hey, you know what? If they are, hey, bring it. Christian's a grown-ass man and he's going to do everything he can to run right through your face."
McCaffrey's physicality on the field has him leading the NFL in in rushing through five games with 510 yards and seven touchdowns on 99 carries. The All-Pro also has caught 20 of his 24 targets for 168 yards and one touchdown.
It's no wonder teams are doing all they can to bring him down.
McCaffrey has been on the receiving end of three violent facemask penalties by opposing defenders in three weeks and has been slammed by two illegal helmet-to-helmet hits -- one of which ended with an opponent taunting him as he lay on the ground.
San Francisco 49ers
After San Francisco's win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, where two of those penalties occurred, McCaffrey said he wasn't sure if teams are intentionally targeting him. And like Kittle, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan doesn't believe it to be the case.
“When you have such a really great player like Christian who’s fearless, guys are doing whatever they can to try to stop him and sometimes when they do that, they get penalties for it,” Shanahan said Monday.
Kittle and McCaffrey are locker mates, and it's clear the tight end knows his fellow offensive stalwart can hold his own on the field -- no matter who's coming for him.
"Seeing his work ethic every single day and how he gets his body ready, how he gets his mind ready, how he attacks stuff -- he's really one of a kind, and being able to be teammates with him is pretty fun," Kittle said. "And the fact that I get to block for the guy, too. When you have a running back who understands angles and stuff like that, and what to press to make defenders move before you set up your block, it makes my job a lot easier. ...
"He makes us look better, so it's really fun to play with someone like that."