How The Christian McCaffrey Trade Affects The 49ers' Super Bowl Chances
The San Francisco 49ers have gone all in on chasing a championship by trading a haul of draft picks for Christian McCaffrey. By adding the superstar running back, the 49ers have improved their chances of winning Super Bowl LVII.
San Francisco's Super Bowl odds have gotten better at several sportsbooks in the immediate aftermath of the trade. The 49ers have +1400 odds to win the championship at BetMGM, FanDuel Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook.
The 49ers had +1900 Super Bowl odds at FanDuel Thursday night. Just prior to acquiring McCaffrey, San Francisco had +1800 Super Bowl odds at BetMGM and Caesars. The team's odds of winning the NFC improved from +800 to +650, pushing them ahead of the Minnesota Vikings.
Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles have better championship odds in the NFC than the 49ers. The Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are the only AFC teams ahead of San Francisco, in terms of Super Bowl odds.
The Carolina Panthers receive second, third and fourth-round draft picks in 2023 in exchange for McCaffrey, ESPN reports. San Francisco also sent Carolina and a 2024 fifth-round pick in the trade.
The deal arguably gives the 49ers the most talented group of playmakers in the league.
49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is the only player in the NFL that has at least 300 receiving yards and 100 rushing yards in the 2022 season. George Kittle is one of the league's top tight ends. Jeff Wilson has been one of the league's most productive running backs since replacing the injured Elijah Mitchell as the starter, averaging 75 rushing yards over the last five games.
When healthy, McCaffrey is one of the sport's best offensive weapons. Before missing 23 games in 2020 and 2021, McCaffrey had a league-high 2,392 scrimmage yards and 19 touchdowns. He had 1,965 total yards in 2018 and averaged 5.0 yards per carry.
In six games with Carolina's last-ranked offense this season, McCaffrey has 393 rushing yards and 277 receiving yards. Only Saquon Barkley, Tyreek Hill and Nick Chubb have more yards from scrimmage.
The 49ers have the league's No. 1 ranked defense. San Francisco is 18th in total offense.
San Francisco had hoped that making Trey Lance its starting quarterback would give the team a championship-caliber offense. Lance struggled in two starts and suffered a season-ending injury, forcing the team to go back to Jimmy Garoppolo.
With a 3-3 record, the 49ers are tied atop the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco defeated both teams by multiple scores and is in the driver's seat to win the division title.
The 49ers came up short in last year's NFC Championship Game. The 2019 season concluded with San Francisco blowing a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead in the Super Bowl.
San Francisco hopes that adding a playmaker of McCaffrey's caliber can finally get the team over the hump, bringing San Francisco its first title in 28 years.
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