ASHBURN, Va. (AP) 鈥� Luke McCaffrey has some big cleats to fill as the son of and brother of . Also following brother Max, he is on the verge of being the fourth member of his family to play in the NFL.
McCaffrey knows all about what comes with having a well-known last name, and now he’s trying to make his own name in professional football as a rookie wide receiver with the Washington Commanders.
The converted quarterback has already formed a strong bond with and expects his upbringing on and off the field to help him adjust to the next level.
鈥淚 took everything from them,鈥� McCaffrey said of learning from his father and brothers. 鈥淪o much of life is the nurture aspect of that and becoming a product of your environment, and I was lucky enough to have such a beautiful environment growing up.”
Ed won three Super Bowls total with San Francisco and Denver during a career lasting more than a decade spent catching passes for the New York Giants, the 49ers and then the Broncos. Christian is a two-time All-Pro running back of the latest Madden video game, the reigning and perennially among the top fantasy football picks in leagues around the world. Max appeared in six games in 2017 and 鈥�18 before moving into coaching, where he鈥檚 now an assistant with the Miami Dolphins.
McCaffrey, out of Rice who previously played at Nebraska, calls growing up in such a decorated family 鈥渢he biggest blessing I never earned” given the resources he has had at his fingertips along the way.
said, partially as a result, McCaffrey 鈥渂roke all the norms鈥� moving from quarterback to receiver.
鈥淒oes it come from having a dad that played in the league 13 years and brother who he can lean on and say: 鈥楬ey, on this, what do you do? What is your mindset? How do you prepare for X?鈥� Sure,鈥� Bloomgren said in a phone interview. 鈥淎ll those things help. But they鈥檙e going to help with this transition, too.鈥�
Bloomgren, who was Stanford’s offensive coordinator when Christian played there, said he first met Luke more than a decade ago and has gotten to know the family very well. A former New York Jets assistant who has been , he is not in the least bit worried about the McCaffrey name getting to Luke.
鈥淢aybe the pressure that comes with being Ed鈥檚 son or Christian鈥檚 brother gets lost somewhere on Luke because he鈥檚 so hard on his friggin鈥� self,鈥� Bloomgren said. 鈥淵ou have to remind him to go to the next play because he is such a perfectionist. Great ones can realize it and strive for perfection but let it be water off a duck鈥檚 back so that they can go to the next play and understand that that play that just happened good or bad can鈥檛 affect them in the next one. And I think Luke鈥檚 grown tremendously in that.”
Bloomgren said that was a struggle for McCaffrey at QB, part of what precipitated the position switch prior to the 2022 season. McCaffrey has since made 129 catches for 1,715 yards and 19 touchdowns, with nearly 400 yards rushing mixed in as a dual threat like Christian, a running back who’s just as reliable as a receiver out of the backfield.
McCaffrey believes his background and history helped the most in communicating with quarterbacks, be it in college or since being drafted and dealing with Daniels, , and Sam Hartman with Washington.
鈥淗e came up as a quarterback and he understands the time that鈥檚 needed that you have to invest in the playbook,鈥� Bloomgren said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been really cool for him to have under his belt as a receiver and not just understand how to study and how to prepare in such a way but also to understand what the quarterback wants you to do as a receiver.鈥�
thinks it has helped McCaffrey learn concepts and depth of routes quicker than expected, making him a more refined pro receiver than expected at this stage. appreciates what McCaffrey’s path has done to shape the 23-year-old’s mindset.
鈥淗e dealt with some adversity, and he kept fighting,” Kingsbury said. “He doesn鈥檛 care if he plays quarterback, running back, whatever. He just wants to play, and that鈥檚 fun to be around. Really smart, same type-deal. I mean, he鈥檚 up there all hours of the day trying to learn and trying to get it down 鈥� and every drill we do, he is full speed.鈥�
So many hours that when Daniels started doing early morning walkthroughs in the Commanders’ practice bubble, he was joined by McCaffrey, who saw the work the was doing, asked about it and showed up daily to be a part of it.
That level of commitment comes as no surprise to Christian, who got emotional when he saw Luke’s name scroll across the TV as the 100th pick in the draft earlier this year.
鈥淚 know how hard he鈥檚 worked,鈥� Christian said. 鈥淚 know the journey he鈥檚 been on. I know the ups and the downs that he鈥檚 gone through, and he鈥檚 done nothing but persevere through them. I鈥檓 fired up for him, and hopefully he has a lot of success.鈥�
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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow in Santa Clara, California, contributed.
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