The San Francisco 49ers managed a coup when they signed former All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey after a trade from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night, October 20. While the trade was not cheap for the 49ers, the long-term gain could be more than the bargain they agreed on.

McCaffrey, 26, is one of the NFL’s premium running backs and is touted to be an ideal player for San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. He is one of the three NFL players to have 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in a single season. Let’s take a look at the complexities of the deal between the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers.

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The Carolina Panthers quoted three first-round picks from the San Francisco 49ers in their initial asking price for the running back. However, it sounded unlikely as the 49ers have managed to soften up the deal to land Christian McCaffrey in what is a second homecoming for him.

According to the NFL Network and Ian Rapoport, the San Francisco 49ers are giving away a total of four picks to the Panthers in exchange for Christian McCaffery. However, none of these players will be first-round picks, reports have stated.

The deal includes the trade of Christian McCaffery to the San Francisco 49ers and in exchange, the Carolina Panthers will receive a second-round pick in 2023, followed by a third-round pick in 2023, along with a fourth-round pick in 2023. The Panthers will also get a fifth-round pick in 2023, as part of the agreement.

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The 49ers lost their star running back Elijah Mitchell to injury in the opening week of the 2022 NFL season. While they deployed Jeff Wilson Jr as a replacement for Mitchell, who has performed admirably, the inclusion of McCaffery will hand them a big advantage in the upcoming weeks.

The San Francisco 49ers offense now includes tight end George Kittle, wide receivers Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk as well as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. If all goes well, the 49ers could emerge as one of the contenders for the Super Bowl but it will be subject to the availability of McCaffrey, whose career has been plagued with injuries in the last two years.