Could the Denver Broncos trade for Christian McCaffrey?

With the Carolina Panthers firing Matt Rhule on Monday, the team could be sellers before the deadline. Could the Denver Broncos trade for CMC?  No one in Broncos Country needs told why there are obvious connections between Christian McCaffrey and the team.

Many wanted the Broncos to take him during the 2017 draft, but they obviously did not.  On Monday, the Carolina Panthers fired their now former head coach Matt Rhule, which has caused some across the NFL to speculate on whether or not the Panthers should be sellers at the trade deadline.

I actually like the Panthers’ roster; they have a solid core of players and I do not think they should be heavy sellers, but perhaps trading a piece or two is what I would personally recommend them doing.  Perhaps one of those pieces is a running back who is on a large contract and has had troubles staying healthy the past two seasons.

What would the pros and cons be of trading for the 6th year player?

Pros and cons of trading for Christian McCaffrey for the Broncos

Pros

There are some benefits.  The Broncos would be able to effectively replace the ground game that they lost when Javonte Williams went down with a torn ACL.  The team is likely going to rely on Melvin Gordon and Latavius Murray the rest of the season, but McCaffrey is a better runner than both of them.  He’d be able to help keep the run game at the level it was at when Williams was on the field.

He’d also bring an incredible receiving threat for the position.  He’s got a career catch rate of nearly 81 percent and has a 1,000-yard receiving season under his belt.  If he wanted, I bet he could legitimately convert to a slot receiver and still have a nice NFL career.  In fact, that’s how the Broncos could use him if they wanted.

The point is that he could help boost the run game and also give Russell Wilson another (very) reliable set of hands.  He also won’t hit free agency until 2026.  His cap hit is just shy of $9 million this season, so it isn’t outrageous.

Remember, with McCaffrey, you’re getting a top seven talent at the running back position and legitimate slot receiver production.

Cons

The cons are obvious, and outweigh the pros.  McCaffrey, between 2020 and 2021, played in just 10 games.  His injury concerns for the position are significant, and he’s not someone who has shown the ability to stay on the field consistently.  The Denver Broncos also have very little draft capital because of the Russell Wilson trade, so it would likely take picks in the future or some players on the roster.

CMC is talented enough to fetch a legitimate starter, and I’m not sure George Paton would be even close to OK with that.  He’d deplete something of the Broncos’ that’ already depleted, and he comes with huge injury concerns.

He’ll be just 27 next summer, but the shelf life for running backs in the NFL is low, as most of us know, so maybe there’s a cliff he’ll soon fall off.