49ers' Trent Williams thinks Christian McCaffrey could win MVP after historic four-game start to season

CMC, who had four TDs in Week 4, leads the league in rushing yards by a lot

Christian McCaffrey is having a historic year and it is the type of season that puts the San Francisco 49ers running back in the league MVP conversation. While this honor has gone to a quarterback in each of the last 10 seasons, CMC could do enough to alter the trend. At least one of his teammates thinks he will.

Left tackle Trent Williams thinks his running back has the talent to come out on top of the MVP voting this year.

"Hey, all them streaks come to an end eventually, right?" Williams said, via ESPN. "This might be the year. I can see it."

Adrian Peterson was the last non-QB to be named MVP, after recording 2,097 rushing yards in 2012.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan believes McCaffrey has been playing like an MVP for some time. 

"I'm not sure on the whole rest of the league right now but I thought he played like [an MVP] last year when he was here," Shanahan said. "Christian's so awesome, he helps us win every time he's out there, but when you've got a guy who can do everything, you can always have unbelievable stats, but he shares that with a lot of other guys and we do whatever it takes to win. So, that's to me the thing that would make it the hardest for him, just stats and just how it works out."

Williams had high praise for McCaffrey, who joined the team last season and has impressed ever since.

"It's a pleasant surprise every Sunday," Williams said. "He just never ceases to amaze me, hurdling a safety, standing on your feet, getting a [touchdown]. It's just impressive."

McCaffrey's performance on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals put him in the history books next to Jerry Rice as the only players in 49ers franchise history to have 150-plus scrimmage yards and four-plus touchdowns in a single game. The four TDs were a career high for McCaffrey and are the second-most scrimmage touchdowns in team history, behind Rice, who had five in a single game. 

McCaffrey has scored a touchdown in 13 consecutive games, which marks the longest active streak in the NFL. The streak also passes Rice for the most consecutive games with at least one touchdown in 49ers history. 

He is on pace to hold the all-time record for most consecutive games with a touchdown, needing two more games with scores to tie the record and three to become the sole record holder. 

Hall of Famers O.J. Simpson, John Riggins, and Lenny Moore all had 15 straight games with a TD, while Emmitt Smith had 14.

McCaffrey finished Sunday's game with 20 carries, 106 yards on the ground, three rushing touchdowns, plus 71 receiving yards and one touchdown in the air. Through four games, he has 80 carries for a league-high 459 yards, six touchdowns, along with 18 receptions for 141 yards and one receiving touchdown.