Advertisement

Is Luke McCaffrey related to Christian McCaffrey? What to know about NFL brothers, family

nick brinkerhoff, usa today
·3 min read

Playing in the NFL doesn't go much further than the Madden franchise or pretend games in the yard for many kids. The simulation of catching the game-winning touchdown, the toe-drag along the sidelines or maybe the hoisting of a fake Lombardi are all things that come to mind. That usually doesn't go away as you grow up, but reality pushes those images further into the abyss.

For the McCaffrey's, that dream became reality. They won't catch weird looks on the street for juking an oncoming pedestrian, spinning away from the hungry eater at the buffet or catching the paper towels over the shoulder in the kitchen. Fantasy has met reality for the McCaffrey family.

As Christian McCaffrey dominates the NFL's best as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, there is another player with a familiar name destined to emerge in the nation's capital. However, is that merely coincidence or is the NFL's brotherhood being taken in a more literal sense? Here's everything you need to know about whether Luke McCaffrey is related to Christian McCaffrey.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more

Is Luke McCaffrey related to Christian McCaffrey?

Luke McCaffrey is one of Christian McCaffrey's three brothers. The Commanders' receiver is the youngest of the bunch which also includes Dylan and Max. Christian and Luke are the only two current NFL players out of the group, but it's a family of athletes.

The father, Ed, played football collegiately at Stanford like Christian before playing 13 NFL seasons from 1991 to 2003. He was a third-round pick by the Giants in 1991 and later played for the 49ers and Broncos, totaling three seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. However, the three-time Super Bowl champion is just one-half of the impressive athletic parenting duo.

The mother, Lisa McCaffrey, also played sports at Stanford, starring as a striker on the soccer team. While their father gets all the attention for his NFL career, the McCaffrey boys tend to credit their mother for their athletic success.

"I mean, if you want to look at genes alone, my mom ran, I think, a 4.5 40-yard dash pregnant with my brother," Luke McCaffrey told the Commanders' site. "So that's kind of always our answer when someone asks us, 'Where'd you get your athleticism from?' It's immediate. All of us will answer 'our mom.'"

The eldest brother, Max, played at Duke and appeared in six NFL games from 2017-18 before becoming an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins. The other brother, Dylan, played collegiately at Michigan and Northern Colorado.

Like Dylan and Max, Luke didn't go on to continue the McCaffrey dynasty at Stanford. The 23-year-old instead played at Nebraska and Rice before Washington selected him in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Regardless, it's often said that football is family. Well, the McCaffrey's took that literally in what's become yet another family affair for the league.

Luke McCaffrey stats

McCaffrey hasn't been afforded the most playing time during his rookie season, appearing in all ten games and being listed as a starter in four. He has 13 receptions on 16 targets for 134 yards, but he is still searching for his first touchdown after the first 10 weeks.

2024 NFL season brothers

It's not unusual for siblings to be playing in the NFL at the same time. Here are other siblings who are active players in 2024:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Luke McCaffrey related to Christian McCaffrey? Brothers, family