ALAMEDA, Calif. — Might the Oakland Raiders be intrigued by Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey when their turn to pick comes up at No. 24 in the first round of next month’s NFL draft?
Should they be interested?
Perhaps in the second or third round, right? There are more pressing needs, such as interior pass rush. Or middle linebacker. Or cornerback. But with free agency opening next week, the Raiders could address some needs there, and Oakland still has to figure out what to do at running back as Latavius Murray enters free agency and Adrian Peterson casts knowing glances the Raiders’ way.
But after a slow start in combine drills — 10 bench-press reps — McCaffrey put on a show Friday, one that might have elevated him into first-round consideration.
As ESPN NFL draft maven Todd McShay noted in an Insider piece, McCaffrey — who entered the combine as McShay’s No. 37-ranked prospect — ran a faster time in the 40-yard dash (4.48 seconds) than Florida State’s Dalvin Cook (4.49), LSU’s Leonard Fournette (4.51) and Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara (4.56).
McCaffrey, the son of longtime NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey, also raised eyebrows and showed his shiftiness with a 6.57-second time in the three-cone drill, the second-fastest among running backs since 2006. His pass-catching ability stood out, too.
As McShay wrote, “If you draft McCaffrey, you’re getting a really good running back and wide receiver.”
McCaffrey set an NCAA record with 3,864 all-purpose yards in 2015 and rushed for 1,603 yards last season while dealing with a hip injury. At 6-foot and 200 pounds, he might not be a lead back, but he could complement the Raiders’ mighty mite RBs, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington, by catching balls out of the backfield or lining up in the slot.
“I don’t think there’s anyone else that can do all the things I can as far as running between the tackles, outside pass protect, play X, Z, slot and do a lot of things in the return game as well,” McCaffrey said at the combine Thursday.
“I think that’s what sets me apart.”
McCaffrey, who sat out Stanford’s Sun Bowl game to avoid injury, already has connections with the Raiders: His brother Max, who ran a 4.36-second 40 as a receiver at Duke last spring, was in camp with Oakland. And Christian was high school teammates with Raiders coach Jack Del Rio’s son Luke at Valor Christian High outside Denver, where current Raiders assistant linebackers coach Brent Vieselmeyer was their head coach.
“It’s so surreal,” McCaffrey said. “Growing up, [Del Rio’s] son Luke was my quarterback in high school. I remember he [Jack Del Rio] was in the stands, with the Broncos, and we would hang out and have dinner with their family. Looking at the Raiders side, looking at the Broncos side, just knowing that there are so many people here that I’ve grown up knowing, it’s pretty surreal that I’m here [at the combine] now as a player.”
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The McCaffrey genetics run deep, from father Ed to Christian’s mother, Lisa, who played soccer at Stanford, to grandfather Dave Sime, who lettered in baseball and track and field at Duke and won the silver medal in the 100 meters at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. There is also uncle Scott Sime, who played fullback at Duke; uncle Billy McCaffrey, who won a national basketball championship at Duke in 1991; and aunt Monica McCaffrey, who played basketball at Georgetown.
The Raiders, you could say, have already done their due diligence on McCaffrey.
“Christian McCaffrey is, first of all, an amazing young man,” Jack Del Rio said at his media session Thursday.
“I’ve seen Christian and I heard the people question whether he’d be able to go from the high school level to the college level. He tore it up. And now the questions will come out, can he go from the college game to the pro game? I think you’re going to see the same thing. This guy’s a great football player, and I think he will have an impact in this league. It’s a great family, Lisa and Ed, and I’m really happy for them and their kids.”
Happy enough to contemplate McCaffrey at No. 24?
