Christian McCaffrey makes the case for running backs to get paid

When it comes to running backs, Christian McCaffrey is the rarest of the rare. First, he produced at a very high level during the early, low-cost years of his contract. Second, he parlayed that production into a massive, market-setting deal.

His $16 million deal, received after only three NFL seasons, bucks the trend at the position. It’s a trend he’d like to see bucked more often.

“No one’s asked me this question yet, but I do have opinions on it,” McCaffrey said Friday on The Rich Eisen Show, via Tristi Rodriguez of Yahoo Sports. “I think when you look back in history and look at what the running back position has meant to football, they touch the ball more than anybody. And I was a guy who liked Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, some of the best to ever do it, and these guys, they didn’t just play for a long time, they played well for a long time, and I look at Derrick Henry as another example. Derrick Henry is older than I am and that guy’s done nothing but produce.

“I look at what Saquon Barkley brings to the [New York] Giants, I look at what Josh Jacobs brings to the [Las Vegas] Raiders, all these backs around the league who have done so many amazing things for their team. They’ve been clutch, they carry the ball, they catch the ball into the backfield, they provide multiple threats, they create mismatches, they make defensive coordinators think, and I think there’s a lot of value in that.”

Indeed there is. But teams shy away from paying for it, mainly for two reasons. One, the supply of running backs outweighs the demand. Two, the injury risk for running backs is higher than it is for any skill-position players.

“Somewhere along the line, the running back position has been undervalued, in my opinion, for what they’re