Report: Christian McCaffrey has playbook customized for him with Panthers

The Carolina Panthers envisioned big things for Christian McCaffrey when they drafted him eighth overall in the NFL Draft, and it sounds like they are putting those plans into motion.

ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported on Tuesday that the Panthers have created an entire playbook just for McCaffrey, who is expected to be a huge part of the team’s offense in his rookie season.

Carolina Panthers sources tell me that Christian McCaffrey has his own separate playbook, a large part of this offense devoted to him.

— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) September 5, 2017

The Panthers still have veteran running back Jonathan Stewart, and he will likely handle much of the traditional workload you’d expect from a tailback. McCaffrey is more versatile and can line up all over the field. Carolina would be wise to take full advantage of that, as that type of threat is not one that Cam Newton has had at his disposal since entering the NFL.

We placed McCaffrey high on our list of rookies who are expected to make a big impact in 2017, and we like his chances even more if the Panthers are designing more than a handful of plays specifically for the former Stanford star.