Christian McCaffrey

When Christian McCaffrey misses games, he misses a lot of them. In three of his eight seasons he has missed a total of 36 games. You may get the McCaffrey that when he plays he is a top three fantasy back, but if you get the one that barely plays, he kills your fantasy side. 

He is one of the best fantasy backs/weapons in the league. As long as he is in the lineup, he's a threat to dominate. 

People fear injury and age. It's why they missed on Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry last year. Barkley was 27 but there was a public sentiment that Barkley's "tread was worn" after high workloads and injury in New York.

Derrick Henry was 30 last year and, once again, the public conflated ther runner with his last offensive line.

Big mistakes.

McCaffrey is 29 and performing in OTAs without restriction. He has a strong offensive line, an excellent scheme, and a good quarterback. He's a safer play than the buzz and should earn a strong workload. If you want a safer player with possibly less PPR upside, go with the even older Derrick Henry. How's that for doubling down on the fallacy of workload and not overreacting to age?  

Will be just 29 years old for the entirety of the 2025 season. Incredible dual-threat talent operating in one of the most fantasy-friendly environments in the NFL. In case you need a reminder of how good of a receiver he is, McCaffrey's reception totals in five seasons of 16+ games played: 80, 107, 116, 85, and 67.

Health is the only concern, but McCaffrey’s ceiling is obvious to anyone who has played fantasy football over the last decade.

We've seen that RB1 overall is within his range of outcomes. If he can stay on the field in Kyle Shanahan's offense, the investment might not look so steep.