Carolina Panthers to watch in London vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

RB Christian McCaffrey

Christian McCaffrey is the best player in the NFL right now, bar none. Everyone, from national media to team beat writers, is running out of ways to compliment the third-year running back at this point, and deservedly so.

I’m sure you’ve seen all the pace stats and historical records that are about to go up in flames, so I’ll spare you the redundancy and give you this. Enjoy it while it lasts. McCaffrey is a once in a lifetime type of player and the Panthers should not hesitate to make him the highest paid running back in the NFL when the time comes.

Much has been made about his usage rate to this point, which is fair. But also fair is the question from the coaches standpoint.

“How do we justify keeping the best player in football off the field?”

You’d be hard pressed to find a correct answer here, but still, you’d like to see him get a spell every now and then. Hopefully in situations where the Panthers have a strong cushion on the scoreboard.

Last time these teams met up, McCaffrey was held to just 52 scrimmage yards and was also stuffed on a potential game-winning touchdown run. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner should have a better plan to attack the Buccaneers this time around, and you can bank on that plan involving a heavy dose of McCaffrey.