There are certain professional and college football players who garner a ton of attention both nationally, and with their respective fan base.
Former Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey is one of those guys. His diverse skill set and versatility in a position that many believe has been "devalued" captivated the college football world over the last few seasons and it appears that hype is already carrying over to the NFL.
The Carolina Panthers are typically synonymous with names like Cam Newton on offense and Luke Kuechly on defense, but now they have a new star who is stealing the spotlight — and they are milking it accordingly.
Christian McCaffrey highlights are the cure for your Monday morning blues
????: https://t.co/seBwWyX97A pic.twitter.com/QQhKqEcyiQ
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 19, 2017
I'm not exaggerating when I'm telling you the Panthers' Twitter account is rolling out the full-court press when it comes to McCaffrey content. On Monday morning alone, three of the five Panthers' tweets featured McCaffrey-related content. This is his world — and we're all just along for the ride.
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Listen, I fully understand the strategy and think it's brilliant. McCaffrey is really marketable. I wouldn't be surprised if he leads all rookies in NFL jersey sales this season, and believe he has a chance to lead jersey sales of all NFL players.
McCaffrey is well-spoken and easy relatable. At just 5-foot-11, he gives kids the hope that anyone can make it to the NFL, even though it would be hard for any player to ever replicate his skill set.
This is exactly the approach the Panthers' PR department should be taking, and with the power of social media, it appears the Carolina media relations department is playing this perfectly.
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Last week on June 15 — the first day of Panthers' OTA's — McCaffrey was featured in 8 of the 18 tweets Carolina sent. That was just one day, and they are getting more and more creative with content focused on the former Stanford star.
I thought this was both hilarious and creative — thought I can't tell if it was staged or planned.
.@CMcCaffrey5 meets the media (but not before Cam) pic.twitter.com/9C3kzMtKph
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 15, 2017
Then there was this video they tweeted last week, that is literally just meant to get fans hyped about McCaffrey's future potential. It's well done.
.@CMcCaffrey5 ???????????? pic.twitter.com/dJbp9AMXP1
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 15, 2017
I'm not sure I've ever seen any pro sports team take such an aggressive approach with any player, especially not a rookie who has yet to play a snap in the NFL. Either way, squads with high draft picks should take notice and follow this plan. McCaffrey has superstar potential, and the Panthers are just riding the wave.
