The question of is Christian McCaffrey playing in Week 7 has been swirling for fantasy football managers since the star RB was traded on Thursday.
Entering the week as the sixth-ranked RB in terms of average fantasy points in half-PPR scoring, McCaffrey would be a huge loss to fantasy managers if he is out. However, with limited time to learn the playbook, should fantasy managers trust him even if he does play?
Update: Christian McCaffrey is active for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7.
Is Christian McCaffrey Playing Today?
It appears as though McCaffrey is set to be active for the 49ers in Week 7 as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 49ers will have a package of plays in their game plan for their new RB.
The phrasing of that tweet from Schefter is very telling about how much we might see McCaffrey this week. It does not look as though he will be extensively used, but we had heard earlier in the week that McCaffrey’s package of plays could be centered around the red zone.
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Fantasy Implications of McCaffrey’s Status
It is really tough to know what to do as a McCaffrey fantasy manager this week. You never want to sit a star player who can break big plays at a moment’s notice. However, it is also incredibly risky to start him, not knowing what the package of plays are or where he will be utilized.
The matchup this week is a fairly friendly one against the Chiefs. Kansas City has allowed 21.7 fantasy points per game in half-PPR scoring to the position. Twice in the last three weeks, they allowed more than 25 fantasy points to RBs. However, they held the Bills’ RBs to just 13.5 fantasy points last week.
The friendly matchup, combined with the talent of McCaffrey, makes it tough to sit him. He definitely comes into the week with reduced value, sitting around the 10th to 15th region in our Week 7 RB fantasy rankings. However, with four teams on a bye this week and a bad year for RBs in fantasy, even a McCaffrey playing limited snaps is still an RB2 consideration this week.
MORE: Week 7 Fantasy PPR Rankings
The presence of McCaffrey also impacts the value of Jeff Wilson. In this matchup, Wilson would have been an RB2 consideration, but he now sits outside the top 30 in our Week 7 RB fantasy rankings. The potential that we could see McCaffrey have a package of plays in and around the red zone and goal line heavily impacts the ceiling for Wilson.
Wilson is a 12-team Flex consideration but is likely a more serious option in deeper leagues. His floor should still be solid, but this offense was tough to judge before the acquisition of McCaffrey.
Last week, Wilson played 58 percent of the offensive snaps but could only manage 25 yards on seven rushing attempts. That kind of performance is not out of the question this week, with multiple mouths to feed in the backfield.