Christian McCaffrey came back with a bang after an injury-ravaged 2024 campaign to shoulder the load for the San Francisco 49ers.
For those efforts, McCaffrey was voted the 2025 AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year on Thursday night at NFL Honors in San Francisco.
McCaffrey finished with 31 of 50 first-place votes with Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson coming in second with nine first-place votes. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott(third place; 197 points, six first-place votes), Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence(fourth; 130 points, two first-place votes) and Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs(fifth; 40 points) rounded out the finalists. Colts quarterback Philip Rivers and Saints wide receiver Chris Olave also received a first-place vote apiece.
McCaffrey missed 13 games during the 2024 season due to a litany of injuries. He showed no ill effects in 2025, starting all 17 games.
CMC rushed 311 times for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns, while leading the NFL in receiving yards by a running back with 924 on 102 catches with seven receiving touchdowns. He finished the campaign with 2,126 yards from scrimmage, the second-most in the league behind Bijan Robinson (2,298).
For stretches, the running back was the Niners' offense. Not only did he lead the club in rushing yards by more than 800 yards, but he also caught more passes than any other player and led the team in receiving yards. CMC set a franchise record with his league-leading 413 touches on the season.
The first-team All-Pro scored either a rushing or receiving touchdown in 12 of 17 tilts and became the first player in league history to generate at least five rushing touchdowns and five receiving touchdowns in a single season.
McCaffrey becomes the third 49er to win the award since it was reinstated in 1998, joining defensive tackle Bryant Young (1999) and Garrison Hearst (2001).
