The San Francisco 49ers ended up winning the Christian McCaffrey sweepstakes, but they faced some stiff competition along the way.
According to recent reports, the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams were also in the mix for the 26-year-old running back’s services, but in the end it was the four draft picks from the Niners (second-, third-, and fourth-rounders in 2023, plus a fifth in 2024) that intrigued the Carolina Panthers the most.
How much better was the Niners’ offer compared to their competitors? Details are now emerging regarding what the Bills were willing to spend—which apparently was a second-round pick, according to Buffalo insider John Wawrow:
Wawrow does go on to say that “The Bills disagree with the wording of this tweet,” which would suggest that perhaps they were willing to give up a little more in order to secure Run CMC. However, it’s doubtful that they would have been willing to offer up the same type of package as San Francisco — which the Panthers felt had similar value to the first-round pick that they were hoping to get for McCaffrey.
No word yet on whether the Bills’ second-round offer was one of the two offers that the Bills apparently rejected prior to their deal with the 49ers.
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With McCaffrey now in San Fran, the Bills could turn their attention elsewhere to another available running back, like the Bears’ David Montgomery, the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs, or the Rams’ Cam Akers. They also have three capable rushers in Devin Singletary, Zack Moss and James Cook already on their roster. So they may not view any of the remaining running backs on the market as significant-enough upgrades to sacrifice draft capital over.
With the November 1st trade deadline just over a week away, you can expect things to heat up as every legitimate contender gears up for their run at the Lombardi Trophy.
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