6 years agoThis was a roller coaster off-season for Jerick McKinnon’s value. When he said he wanted RB1 money, the entire community laughed at that notion. That was until the San Francisco 49ers and Kyle Shanahan, the RB whisperer, shocked us. At that point McKinnon saw his value soar into RB1 territory for PPR leagues and comparisons to former Shanahan running backs started to ramp up. Under the watch of Shanahan, we saw Devonta Freeman become one of the best all-around running backs in the game, Isaiah Crowell had a very promising rookie campaign, Alfred Morris had 2,888 yards rushing in two seasons and Steve Slaton had over 1,200 yards rushing. If he can turn Slaton into a worthwhile start at running back, he can do wonders with McKinnon. Now, with all that, I think we still need to be cautious with how high we send his value. In PPR leagues, McKinnon has RB1 upside. He will get enough pass catching work alone to elevate to that level. It’s him as a runner that is worrisome, so his value starts to go down in half-PPR and standard leagues. The good news is that there isn’t much behind McKinnon to challenge him for touches. Matt Breida could help spell McKinnon but isn’t a true featured back either and Joe Williams missed all last season. This is going to be McKinnon’s backfield and in fantasy, volume always wins.--Kyle Richardson