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When healthy, there are few players in the NFL that are more dynamic than the do-everything running back for the Carolina Panthers, Christian McCaffrey. 

On the heels of the Baker Mayfield trade from the Browns to Carolina, there is renewed attention on the prospects of the Panthers players and the team’s outlook for the 2022 season. Coming off two injured seasons, McCaffrey is in a prime position to take home the AP Comeback Player of the Year award after this season – and the betting odds are juicy.

McCaffrey has only played in a total of 10 games over the last two seasons, but there’s no denying his talent when he’s on the field. In 2021, McCaffrey racked up 785 scrimmage yards in seven games played, rushing to the tune of 4.5 yards per carry while compiling 37 receptions on 41 targets. 

If you take his 5.85 targets per game and extrapolate it over a full season, McCaffrey was on pace for 99.5 targets. That would have led all running backs. 

Before injuries slowed him down over the last two seasons, McCaffrey’s 2019 season was one of the greatest seasons for a running back in NFL history. In that historic season, McCaffrey ran for 1,385 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also adding 1,005 receiving yards and four scores through the air. His 2,392 scrimmage yards and 19 total touchdowns both led the league.

This isn’t a fantasy football article, but McCaffrey was a cheat code in fantasy football that season. Following the 2019 campaign, the Panthers rewarded McCaffrey with a four-year $64 million extension that has him under contract through 2025 – his age 29 season. Appearing in only 10 games over the two seasons after signing the lucrative deal is not what the Panthers’ front office had in mind.

Whether or not you like Mayfield, he is far and away a massive improvement over what the Panthers were previously going to roll out this season. Over the last two years, the Panthers have been looking for a long-term option at the quarterback position, rolling out Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater, and P.J. Walker last year. Darnold ranked 29th in the NFL last year at 6.2 yards per pass attempt.

Mayfield battled shoulder injuries most of last season, leading to a career-low in passing yards per game and passing touchdowns. When healthy, we have seen flashes of high-level play from Mayfield. Whether or not he turns out to be their long-term answer at the quarterback position, he should provide a boost to the Panthers’ offense this season.

Back to McCaffrey – currently sitting at +1000 odds to win comeback player of the year for a player that has the third-most scrimmage yards in a single season in NFL history, who can contribute both on the ground and through the air, feels like incredible odds. If he’s healthy, he could threaten 2,000 scrimmage yards yet again, and if he does that, this award belongs to him.