San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles, calf) has been a thorn in the side of fantasy managers for years. In previous seasons, he was a force to be reckoned with by any team that faced him. This season, he's scored exactly zero fantasy points all year.
The injuries he came into the season with have kept him out of eight games so far, and the team just had its bye week in Week 9. He returned to practice earlier this week, and things are trending toward his return to play soon, much to the relief of fantasy managers who drafted him near-universally with top-5 picks.
So should you start CMC in Week 10?
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Christian McCaffrey Fantasy Football Outlook
He's one of the best in the league at his position, and while Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry looks like the best RB in the league this year, McCaffrey is one of the few that could give him a run for his money, the other being Philadelphia Eagles back Saquon Barkley.
"He won't go down!!!"
Greg Papa calls Christian McCaffrey's massive run against the Raiders 📻 pic.twitter.com/IqQ6CkJ7k1
— KNBR (@KNBR) January 2, 2023
His upside is tremendous. He's a league-winner when he's healthy -- the question of how healthy he truly is remains, but that's something that won't be answered until we see what he can do on the field in his return.
Should I Start Christian McCaffrey in Week 10?
You can't bench anyone this talented. While Shanny is obviously coy about his usage, availability, and really anything that could give opposing teams more information about his team, if No. 23 plays, you just have to start him in your fantasy lineups if you want to give your team the best chance at winning.
MERRY CHRISTMAS CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY MANAGERS 🎄
He caps off a 14.5(!) point drive with this touchdown 😳pic.twitter.com/x8YkQoEo5V
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) December 26, 2023
He's so good at what he does that he fundamentally changes the way opposing teams play defense against the 49ers. Shanahan could always pull one of his tricks, like designating CMC as active for the game only to not give him much work, but fantasy managers will have to take the risk of that happening.
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