Around the NFL

July 30, 2019

Christian McCaffrey

Norv Turner promises McCaffrey will be heavily used

I see that Norv Turner is promising a big workload for Christian McCaffrey. But with the microphones in front of him, Turner couldn’t stop himself from piling it on extra thick.

“I’ve had six different guys who have had more than 400 touches, so he’s not even close to some of the guys I’ve been with,” Turner said. “He’s on the field 90 percent of the time. We need to get someone else on the field, but we’re not going to minimize his carries or touches.”

Pretty impressive stuff, but I pulled out the stats and looked them over. Turner hasn’t coached six such running backs. He’s at three (and it’s four if you count Eric Dickerson in 1986 – Turner was the wide receivers coach on that team).

But whatever. I will concede that Turner made some big promises last year about McCaffrey being a full-time player and being heavily used. I laughed at them at the time, but McCaffrey last year was the most heavily used running back in the league. He was on the field for 965 snaps – the most of any player at his position.

McCaffrey ended up handling the ball 326 times (including 107 catches) before they pulled him early in their Week 17 game (with the game having not playoff implications for them).

Turner says his intention this year is to spell McCaffrey a little more. That playing time will go to either veteran Cameron Artis-Payne or rookie Jordan Scarlett. But Turner says he hopes McCaffrey will have another season with plenty of touches. In my eyes, he’s locked in as one of the top 4 elite backs in the draft (along with Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott and Alvin Kamara). Elliott is holding out, but I don’t see that as a big deal at this point.

As for running backs putting up 400 touches, however, that’s rare. Since the merger in 1970, only 43 running backs have managed to finish with 400 touches in a season, including only three in the last 10 years.

RUNNING BACKS WITH 400 TOUCHES
Year	Player	Run	Rec	Total	Yards	TD
1984	James Wilder, T.B.	407	85	492	2,229	13
2006	Larry Johnson, K.C.	416	41	457	2,199	19
2000	Eddie George, Ten.	403	50	453	1,962	16
2002	LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D.	372	79	451	2,172	15
2000	Edgerrin James, Ind.	387	63	450	2,303	18
2014	DeMarco Murray, Dall.	392	57	449	2,261	13
1985	Marcus Allen, Oak.	380	67	447	2,314	14
2003	• Ricky Williams, Mia.	392	50	442	1,723	10
1983	Eric Dickerson, LAR	390	51	441	2,212	20
1995	Emmitt Smith, Dall.	377	62	439	2,148	25
1998	Jamal Anderson, Atl.	410	27	437	2,165	16
2006	Steven Jackson, St.L.	346	90	436	2,334	16
1992	• Emmitt Smith, Dall.	373	59	432	2,048	19
1999	Edgerrin James, Ind.	369	62	431	2,139	17
2002	• Ricky Williams, Mia.	383	47	430	2,216	17
1986	• Eric Dickerson, LAR	404	26	430	2,026	11
1985	Gerald Riggs, Atl.	397	33	430	1,986	10
1992	Barry Foster, Pitt.	390	36	426	2,034	11
1984	Walter Payton, Chi.	381	45	426	2,052	11
1988	Eric Dickerson, Ind.	388	36	424	2,036	15
2003	Deuce McAllister, N.O.	351	69	420	2,157	8
1994	Emmitt Smith, Dall.	368	50	418	1,825	22
1985	James Wilder, T.B.	365	53	418	1,641	10
1998	Terrell Davis, Den.	392	25	417	2,225	23
1991	Emmitt Smith, Dall.	365	49	414	1,821	13
1988	Herschel Walker, Dall.	361	53	414	2,019	7
2003	Jamal Lewis, Balt.	387	26	413	2,271	14
2003	LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D.	313	100	413	2,370	17
2004	Curtis Martin, NYJ	371	41	412	1,942	14
1999	Curtis Martin, NYJ	367	45	412	1,723	5
1998	Curtis Martin, NYJ	369	43	412	1,652	9
2005	Tiki Barber, NYG	357	54	411	2,390	11
1997	Terrell Davis, Den.	369	42	411	2,037	15
1998	Marshall Faulk, Ind.	324	86	410	2,227	10
2009	Chris Johnson, Ten.	358	50	408	2,509	16
2017	LeVeon Bell, Pitt.	321	85	406	1,946	11
2003	Ahman Green, G.B.	355	50	405	2,250	20
2006	LaDainian Tomlinson, S.D.	348	56	404	2,323	31
2005	Edgerrin James, Ind.	360	44	404	1,843	14
1996	Ricky Watters, Phil.	353	51	404	1,855	13
1993	Thurman Thomas, Buff.	355	48	403	1,702	6
1984	Eric Dickerson, LAR	379	21	400	2,244	14
1979	Walter Payton, Chi.	369	31	400	1,923	16

—Ian Allan

Norv Turner Christian McCaffrey

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