The receiver sprinted down the sideline for more than 20 yards, then turned inside, leaving his defender behind as the ball headed toward the middle of the field. The receiver extends his arms, body level with the field, grabs the ball with his gloved fingers and pulls it in while holding the defender around his neck. The crowd roared as the two men fell to the ground, their sleeves stained with grass.
This drama feels all too familiar. Swap jerseys, change numbers, and add a few inches of height, and the receiver wearing “McCaffrey” could be Ed, the former 49er and Bronco known as “White Lightning” for his speed and toughness as a wide receiver.
But tonight, wearing No. 11 is Luke, the youngest of Ed's four sons, and his 50-yard catch against the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday was another highlight in his growing list of big games. Luke followed in his father's footsteps as an NFL receiver and began showing speed and toughness for the Washington Commanders.
Jayden throws a deep pass to Luke McCaffrey!
WASvsLAC on FOX/FOX One https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/Fzk0ycZbdc
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025
Luke McCaffrey, a third-round pick in the 2024 draft, arrived in Washington with just two years of receiving experience after spending most of his development and early college career at quarterback. Year one was mostly a developmental test for him, with rookie Jayden Daniels turning the Commander's offense into a scoring machine.
However, so far in Year 2, McCaffrey has been a sight to behold as a receiver and kickoff returner. As of Week 5, he has 523 combined receiving and return yards, which ranks 10th in the NFL, while his kickoff return average of 31.4 yards ranks third among players with at least six kick returns.
“He's a playmaker, man,” said Christian McCaffrey, Luke's older brother and an All-Pro running back with the 49ers. “He's just a football player, as I like to call him. That catch was an example of that — the situation was critical and the team needed a play. We've seen that from him countless times.”
That speed, they both say, comes from Ed's wife, Lisa, a former standout football player at Stanford University. The love for the game was passed down from Ed.
Luke is now the third McCaffrey in the NFL, joining his eldest brothers Max McCaffrey and Christian. Max McCaffrey is a former receiver and now an assistant quarterbacks coach with the Miami Dolphins, while Christian is the superstar in the family, growing in accolades each season. The third son, Dylan McCaffrey, is a quarterback at the University of Michigan and was Luke's quarterback for two seasons in high school.
This was Luke's only foray into a position other than quarterback. He was a four-star recruit out of Valor Christian High in Colorado and committed to multiple Power 5 programs at Nebraska, including Ohio State, Michigan and Ole Miss.
Luke McCaffrey began his college career at Nebraska, where he played quarterback. (Steven Branscomb/Getty Images)
He redshirted his freshman season before being passed over for the starting job in 2020 by Adrian Martinez. McCaffrey entered the transfer portal at season's end and committed to Louisville, but transferred again a few months later when it became clear he wouldn't start for the Cardinals. In 2021, he came to Rice University and once again competed for the starting quarterback position. After nine games and three starts, he decided another change was needed — but not at school.
He asked to switch to receiver.
“For me, I definitely saw a change in Luke when he came back,” said Mike Kershaw, former Rice receivers coach and now Kennesaw State's general manager. “I think when he initially took over the program and became the so-called savior of the program as the quarterback, there was a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Not that it weighed heavily on him, but once he decided to make a change, he could develop as a football player and I think that's what he loved to do.”
But McCaffrey has little experience at the position, giving Kershaw a new challenge. So they started from scratch, spending hours poring over game tape of about 15 receivers with similar builds to McCaffrey. Cooper Kupp was the principal accompanist.
“There are a lot of great athletic quarterbacks who can't catch the ball,” Kershaw said. “So you're like, 'Well, I hope he catches it.'” Apparently, that's not a problem. … He probably burned out Rice’s JUGS machines multiple times because he used them so much. “
Luke has about six months to transform into a receiver, while most receivers his age have years of experience learning the nuances of the position. His main strength, however, is his family.
“My dad helped a lot and my brother Max helped a lot,” Luke McCaffrey said. “I think they're very helpful. I mean, it's the greatest blessing I've ever been given.”
McCaffrey finished the 2022 season at Rice with 723 yards receiving, 58 catches and a team-high six touchdowns. The following season, he was named first-team All-American with 992 receiving yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns. He is also the team captain.
“I still think if he keeps it up, he can have a lot of success at quarterback,” said Ed, now the head of McCaffrey Brands, the family's specialty food company. “Not everyone has incredible success at the college level early, like a freshman or sophomore year. I think he can still be successful at that position, but it was his decision. He's glad he did it, he went out there and had a great year. I don't think he regrets it.”
Adam Peters was an executive with the 49ers when they signed Marquez in 2017 and traded Christian in 2022. Selecting Luke with the 100th overall pick in 2024 was one of Peters' earliest decisions as Commander's general manager, and it was primarily based on strengths.
Luke has a lot of that — more than his proven skills at receiver. But he has the speed — he was a hair faster than Christian in 40 snaps at the NFL combine — and made a series of contested catches on Rice, proving he can take hits and deliver some of his own. Combined with his background as a quarterback, Commanders coach Dan Quinn believed Luke would be a good fit as a kickoff returner when running back Austin Ekeler went down with a concussion late last season.
But McCaffrey's offensive game needs more polish and quicker learning to keep up with the highest-level players.
After his rookie season, Luke spent the entire offseason with Christian. They spent a month in Los Angeles with Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and invested time in Charlotte, where Luke also linked up with veteran receiver Adam Thielen.
“He asked me to come to his house and watch a movie,” Luke said. “… We had a similar guy who did some therapy and stuff like that, and he said, 'Oh, I'd love to reach out to you guys.' So I reached out and asked him. He's an incredible guy. He was very nice to let me do it.”
At the end of the offseason, Christian noticed a noticeable change in his brother. What's the biggest difference?
“Well, this sounds weird, but speed, size and strength,” Christian said. “I think when you play quarterback your whole life, you train in a certain way, but you don't really get stronger. It's all about mechanics. It's all about throwing. You have to limit the reps you do the upper body, and when you do the upper body, it's very specific. So this is his first real offseason, being able to work with a real sprint coach and real strength and conditioning coaches and therapy and all that stuff and see the way his body changes throughout the season. The offseason has been awesome. … He's putting more force into the ground, he's getting faster and stronger.”
Commanders' coaches have noticed, too, with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury describing his overall performance as “night and day.”
Commanders want McCaffrey to become a more technical route runner. They want him to continue working on becoming a better tackler. They also want him to be not only a slot receiver but a backup who can play all five receiver positions.
“He's just doing everything he can to continue to develop into a complete receiver,” receivers coach Bobby Engram said. “I think he absolutely attacked it.”
In training camp, with starter Terry McLaurin holding on due to a contract impasse and Noah Brown recovering from a knee injury, McCaffrey has taken the lion's share of first-team action, moving around the defensive line. There are some errors, but that's to be expected. The goal is to push McCaffrey to expand his repertoire and comfort level.
The results were evident as early as the first week.
In the season opener against the Giants, McCaffrey threw a dunk on Deebo Samuel's first touchdown as playcaller.
By week three, McCaffrey scored his first touchdown and his second the following week.
Luke McCaffrey has scored a touchdown on a short catch for the second straight week against the Atlanta Falcons. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
But it was the rush of scrambling plays that impressed Quinn the most.
Shortly after catching Atlanta for a 5-yard touchdown, McCaffrey made the tackle as part of the Commander's kickoff coverage team. Quinn recognized him the next day during a special teams meeting in Washington.
“I think it shows that he’s a competitor,” Quinn said.
The next week against the Chargers, McCaffrey shocked the offense with a 50-yard catch shortly before halftime. Midway through the second quarter, he made a key block that cleared a lane for running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt's 27-yard run.
Quinn reiterated McCaffrey's role during a team meeting the next day.
“When I switched positions, one of the biggest things I said was I just wanted to be a football player,” Luke said. “As a quarterback, you're not really a football player through and through. You're more of a scientist. But the most important thing to me is being able to run, being able to hit people, being able to do all the things that football players do.”