It seemed so unfair. At least, that's what Rich Eisen thought when he heard rumors swirling that the San Francisco 49ers were looking to trade for star running back Christian McCaffrey. It just wasn't fair ... for the rest of the NFL.
Like so many, Eisen has a great deal of respect for head coach Kyle Shanahan's system and the already-talented roster he and general manager John Lynch have built over the years.
McCaffrey joined the Rich Eisen Show on Friday, and the two reflected on the trade that sent him from the Carolina Panthers to Shanahan's 49ers, a situation Eisen called "a perfect fit."
"I'm definitely excited," McCaffrey told Eisen. "Like you said, it's a great fit for me. It's a great fit for, really, any skill player. It's a great fit for O-linemen, too. I mean, the scheme is so fun. It's sustainable. It's worked forever. And I am going to say you still have to execute it, but it's a lot of fun being able to be surrounded by guys like [TE] George Kittle and [WRs] Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk and [OT] Trent Williams, [WR] Jauan Jennings.
"There's a great backfield. Elijah Mitchell, who's a great back, Jordan Mason, Ty-Davis Price, all these guys. [FB] Kyle Juszczyk, who's one of the best guys I've been around. All these guys, man, and then add that defense on top of it.
"And then add the staff that we have. It's exciting. It really is exciting. And I feel like as a football nerd, and as a fan of the game, I have fun going into work every day just learning so much."
This year should be much better for McCaffrey compared to 2022. He joined the 49ers in October, ahead of the trade deadline, and didn't have much time to familiarize himself with the playbook. About 48 hours after arriving in Santa Clara, he was lining up in the backfield against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Getting up to speed probably felt like a whirlwind with all the information being thrown at him.
"And it is nice being able to have an offseason under my belt where I can get comfortable with the details and the things beyond the X's and O's that I'm not learning game plan to game plan," McCaffrey said. "So I'm definitely excited to be here, be surrounded by all these guys."