Christian McCaffrey does more than just dominate opposing defenses for the 11-3 49ers.
San Francisco’s crown jewel predicts plays while watching games like any other football fan, except he’s actually right about what he sees.
During a segment of ESPN's "ManningCast," McCaffrey almost perfectly guessed a play during Monday night's clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.
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“Jalen Hurts is running a QB draw to the left,” McCaffrey told the Manning brothers. “The tight end is going to pull. The tight end’s deep so he’s sifting backside. There you go. He sifted, but it wasn’t to the left.”
Two weeks ago, McCaffrey and the 49ers embarrassed the Eagles 42-19 at Lincoln Financial Field, meaning some of Philadelphia’s play calls were likely fresh in the San Francisco running back’s mind.
Additionally, McCaffrey used his platform to highlight “couch quarterbacks” or hypercritical fans with strong opinions when watching games.
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“You see a lot of guys on the couch, you know,” McCaffrey explained to the Manning Brothers. “A lot of Twitter quarterbacks and so on, who have a lot to say about quarterback play and head coach play.”
Of course, while McCaffrey had the Mannings cracking up with his humor and predictive skills, the Stanford product still found a way to praise his teammates, emphasizing their run-blocking efforts and the overall structure of the 49ers.
“I see guys like Brandon Aiyuk blocking 65 yards down the field when I’m running,” McCaffrey told the Manning brothers. “Guys like Deebo [Samuel] push-cracking safeties and then Jauan Jennings, who’s one of the best blocking receivers I’ve ever seen. Mix that with George [Kittle] and all of what our tight ends do, [Kyle Juszczyk] and how much they commit to playing without the ball. Then obviously, it starts up front with the offensive line and then what Brock [Purdy] does.
“That means a lot. Our team takes a lot of pride in competing to see who can make that play that might spring the guy next to you for a big gain."
Simply put, McCaffrey’s skill set extends beyond the gridiron to his couch, making his teammates want to block for him and fans want to watch him on broadcasts.