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San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. McCaffrey has been the top offensive weapon in the NFL since his second year in the league.
The former Stanford star has led the NFL in touches and scrimmage yards twice in his career, including last season. More importantly, he has been a fantasy superstar every year of his career when healthy.
Unfortunately, McCaffrey has struggled with injuries in his career. After only missing one game last season, the superstar running back suffered a calf injury early in training camp.
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Will Christian McCaffrey Play In Week 1?
McCaffrey has dealt with soft tissue injuries in the past, missing 23 games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons because of injury. Therefore, the fantasy football community panicked when the veteran suffered a calf injury a few weeks ago. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t believe the calf injury is significant. More importantly, it sounds like he expects McCaffrey to play in Week 1 against the New York Jets.
Here’s an exchange that Kyle Shanahan had today with reporters that explains why he is not overly concerned about RB Christian McCaffrey missing the majority of camp with a calf injury: pic.twitter.com/YPb40PJw4O
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 20, 2024
Christian McCaffrey 2024 Fantasy Football Outlook
The superstar was the RB1 last year, averaging 22.4 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. McCaffrey had 272 rushing attempts for 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns in 16 games. He also had 67 receptions on 83 targets for 564 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
CMC's 17th TD of the season extends the @49ers' lead
📺: #SFvsPHI on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/xvCjbLUIcN pic.twitter.com/LUBMIE2EGk— NFL (@NFL) December 3, 2023
Fantasy players have come to expect that type of elite production from the veteran running back. McCaffrey has averaged 20.8 or more fantasy points per game in four of the past six seasons. The only reason fantasy players shouldn’t take him with the 1.01 pick is the injury risk.
When McCaffrey led the NFL in touches during the 2019 season, the superstar averaged 25.8 fantasy points per game. Unfortunately, he missed nearly 70% of the games over the next two years because of injury. While the injury concern is meaningful, McCaffrey has too much upside to pass on him as the top pick if he is ready to play in Week 1.
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