Greg Pope says Christian McCaffrey is the "final chess piece" for the 49ers' offense

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Christian McCaffrey saw limited action in the 49ers’ 44-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7 at Levy Stadium.

However, after a week of training, the playbook should begin to unravel for the 26-year-old.

Longtime 49ers play-by-play announcer Greg Pope spoke with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco about how coach Kyle Shanahan intends to use McCaffrin.

“He’s a great chess piece where you can line him up in a slot sometimes,” Papa told Maiocco on a recent episode of “49ers Talk.” “Actually, going back to his freshman year at Carolina in 2017, Mike Shula was the offensive coordinator. That year, he lined up 19 percent of the slot.

“Then Norv Turner came in, and Norv’s a stronger guy. He wanted them to line up in the back, offset man and all that, so he moved away from that. But I think you’ll see Kyle use this guy as a great chess piece and he move around the board a lot.”

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There are many, like 49ers legend Steve Young, who are excited to see what San Francisco’s offense will look like as Shanahan opens up the entire playbook with McCaffrey fully integrated into the team.

San Francisco will unleash its full potential as an offense against the NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

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