Christian McCaffrey // Cody Hughes, GQ
The 28-year-old running back is coming off of his best season to date, winning the Offensive Player of the Year award after rushing for a career-high 1,459 yards and 5.4 yards per carry to go along with 21 total touchdowns (including seven receiving).
After finishing as one of the runner-ups in MVP voting, it's pretty clear McCaffrey is very much in the thick of his prime. While other running backs at a similar age – 29-year-old Ezekiel Elliott, for example – have shown signs of slowing down compared to their previous years, McCaffrey just continues to get better.
Despite his heavy workload – McCaffrey is considered the best receiving back in the NFL – and past history of injuries – he was limited to 10 games during the 2020 and 2021 seasons – the three-time Pro Bowl running back seems to be getting better with each passing season. His training regimen combined with his diet play major roles in why that's the case.
The advances in science have led to athletes playing longer than ever before, with LeBron James remaining one of the best players in the NBA at the age of 39. Tom Brady also played at an elite level until retiring at the age of 45.
Although he plays one of the most bruising positions in football where a lot of guys are done by the age of 30, McCaffrey believes he can play into his mid-30s.
"Absolutely," McCaffrey said without hesitation when asked if he could play until his mid-30s in a one-on-one interview with RG.org. "I don't put limits on anything. I always go off how I feel and I feel fantastic. I feel great. I look at guys around the league who are my age and are still balling, guys older than me like Derrick Henry and Raheem Mostert. They're in their 30's and they're Pro Bowlers and All-Pro caliber players. I absolutely think you can go as long as you want."
Derrick Henry remains one of the top running backs in the NFL at the age of 30, coming off of a solid season in which he ran for over 1,100 rushing yards to go along with 12 rushing touchdowns and 4.2 yards per carry. Henry's career timeline nearly syncs up with McCaffrey's, having entered the NFL a year prior in 2016 and having racked up slightly more touches -- 2,062 touches to McCaffrey's 1,806 -- since 2017.
Henry isn't quite the back that he was earlier in his career when he averaged over five yards per carry during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, but he's still one of the better backs in the NFL.
In Raheem Mostert's case, he's coming off of a sensational campaign in which he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns (18) at the age of 31. However, it's worth noting that Mostert's career arc is vastly different from McCaffrey and Henry's. Mostert never started more than eight games in a single season until 2022 and he has started just 38 of his 90 career games. In other words, he doesn't have the wear-and-tear of your typical running back over the age of 30.
McCaffrey believes that playing multiple sports growing up is what helped him become the best running back in the NFL today. The Niners star details that not only did he play football during all four years of high school, he also played basketball and participated in track during every year of his high school life. He never had an offseason as a kid – other than the summer – and he attributes his experience in track in helping him emerge with the speed that he has today.
"If you want to be a good running back, learn how to play point guard," says McCaffrey. "If you want to be faster, run track. The fastest kids in the school all ran track and I wanted to be fast – so I ran track. I think learning how to cut, hand-eye coordination, being able to jump, spatial awareness in basketball – all of those things – help with football."
The eighth-year running back further argues the case for why the best athletes tend to be the ones who played multiple sports growing up.
"You might not see it right away, but it's more for your brain and your cognitive ability to be able to adapt to movements – change speeds and stop and feel movements," says McCaffrey. "I think athletes – the people who can run, jump, stop, start on a dime – are the best athletes. A lot of them played multiple sports growing up."
His suggestion to young athletes looking to carve out a career in professional sports is simple – play multiple sports.
"I think for the young kids, play multiple sports – that's my biggest advice," suggests McCaffrey. "I think we live in an era where kids are starting to be so focused on one sport all year round. I think that can lead to negative habits. You might be better at that age, but I don't think it's better for you in the long run. I think one of the best things I did was play basketball, run track, and play baseball growing up. Because you're training your brain more so than anything on how to be athletic. The best football players are the best athletes."
If there's anyone that can play at an elite level deep into his 30's, it's McCaffrey. The shoulder and hamstring injuries that derailed his seasons in 2020 and 2021 are in the rearview mirror. Eight-time Pro Bowler fullback Kyle Juszczyk – who has blocked for McCaffrey over the past two seasons – calls his teammate the "best football player" he's ever seen in person.
McCaffrey is currently dealing with a calf injury that will sideline him for the preseason. However, it's not a serious injury and the veteran running back reiterates that he would be playing if the regular season was taking place right now, saying that he feels "great" and that he's getting a bunch of work in while rehabbing his injury.
"I think for me, it's everything is about confidence," says McCaffrey who is partnering with Dymatize. "If you're not confident in your training and you're not confident in your nutrition, it's not going to work. But if you are, it will. When you know what you're drinking – the Dymatize ISO100 or whatever it may be – you know that's scientifically backed. You know you're doing the right thing. That's the first part of it. You have confidence taking it. The second part of it is, you feel better."
DJ Siddiqi is a sports reporter who focuses on football, basketball and pro wrestling. He has covered some of the biggest sporting events, including the NBA Finals and Wrestlemania and often interviews high-profile athletes on a weekly basis. Siddiqi has interviewed the likes of Dan Marino, Emmitt Smith, Shaquille O'Neal, Tony Hawk and Giannis Antetokounmpo. His previous experience includes working as a lead NBA writer at CBS Sports and 247 Sports in addition to working as a beat reporter covering the NFL and the Denver Broncos at Bleacher Report. Follow Siddiqi for exclusive one-on-one interviews and analysis on key topics in sports
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