49ers' Kyle Shanahan reacts to Christian McCaffrey-Steph Curry comparison

Since joining the San Francisco 49ers last season, Christian McCaffrey has done remarkable things. Leading the NFL in rushing yards with 1,177 and all-purpose yards with 1,614, the running back is a big reason why the 49ers are in the driver's seat for home-field advantage in the playoffs, and he'll be a big reason for their success if they win Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Thursday and discussed the parallels between McCaffrey and another Bay Area superstar athlete—Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. An argument was made that, similar to Curry's impact on the basketball court, McCaffrey elevates everyone around him on the football field, creating opportunities for his teammates.

The coach was asked if he agreed with the comparison.

"First of all, not even talking Christian, when you have a threatening run game, just the run game does that to a defense," Shanahan responded. "No matter what they want to do, no matter how good your quarterback or your receivers are, if you have a good running team and you're willing to run the ball, that's a problem for defenses. They have to honor that, which makes everything else better.

"And then you add in an elite running back, like Christian, with a good running team. So that's just twice as big of a problem as it could be just in a normal situation. And then, on top of it, you go out to what Christian could do to all the guys who cover him, which are usually linebackers and safeties. If he wasn't such a threat in the run game and we didn't run him so much, then go ahead, put some corners in there to play linebacker and safety because then they're in positions that they could have a better chance covering him."