INDIANAPOLIS – Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey is continuing his family NFL tradition.
McCaffrey aced the the NFL scouting combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds to edge the time of his older brother, San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey. Christian McCaffrey ran a 4.47 in 2017.
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Speed runs in the family.
Their father, Ed McCaffrey, played wide receiver for the Denver Broncos.
Luke McCaffrey had a 1.52 10-yard split, a 36-inch vertical leap, a 10-1 broad jump, a 6.7 in the three-cone drill and a 4.02 short shuttle that represented the best among all wide receivers at the combine.
McCaffrey, who played in the Senior Bowl all-star game, is a converted quarterback and Nebraska transfer known for his work as a slot possession receiver.
Ed McCaffrey played 13 seasons in the NFL. And Christian McCaffrey was named the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year. His brother, Max McCaffrey, is an offensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins.
“I take a lot of pride in the versatility of my game, being able to play in the slot, out wide, being able to play Wildcat quarterback, being able to play running back,” McCaffrey said of the Dolphins and coach Mike McDaniel. “Their offense has a whole lot of speed. I don’t think they’re hiding that. I think they do such a good job of using motions, using shifts to open up their fast players and I think McDaniel is such a great play caller when it comes to that just the way that he can manipulate defenses in the way that they can break down a team like that. So, it’s a lot of fun watching.”
Would he rather play for the 49ers, whom he met with, or the Dolphins?
“Oh, I don’t know,” McCaffrey said. “Both of them would be awesome. You know, there’s a lot of cool storylines when it comes to the game of football. I’m just going to be excited to be playing football because a lot of people don’t get that opportunity as you grow up, and so I’m gonna be happy wherever I land.”
McCaffrey caught 71 passes for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Owls.
The 6-foot-1, 202-pounder caught 58 passes for 723 yards and six touchdowns as a junior.
He has been projected anywhere from the middle rounds to the later rounds.
“I’ve heard everything,” McCaffrey said. “I’ve heard literally every single round from the second to undrafted and so I don’t like to speculate on that. I’m living in the moment right now.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
