The San Francisco 49ers will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding Christian McCaffrey.
Is Christian McCaffrey Playing in Week 7?
After San Francisco’s Week 6 win on Thursday night, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that McCaffrey will not have his practice window opened despite now being eligible to return. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport noted that a return after the 49ers’ Week 9 bye would be the most sensible scenario.
When McCaffrey does return, he will likely be the only 49ers running back worth starting.
He played a monstrous 80.2% of San Francisco’s offensive snaps last season (excluding the Week 18 game he sat out with playoff positioning clinched), so there’s plenty of room to come down while still maintaining bell-cow status.
Shanahan has continuously leaned heavily on McCaffrey despite promises in the past that he would lighten his workload. Perhaps this situation finally leads Shanahan to keep that resolution, but we shouldn’t assume McCaffrey will be in any type of committee until we actually see it.
We’ll continue to monitor the 49ers injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Buy Low or Sell High in a Christian McCaffrey Trade?
From PFN Analyst Jason Katz
We know that all signs point to the fantasy 1.01 making his season debut in Week 10 against the Buccaneers, which is a nice level of clarity. He’s a situational trade target, though likely not a realistic one, given that his manager has been holding steady for over a month now and is pot-committed.
Would it be nice to have a fantasy playoff schedule that includes games against the Rams-Dolphins-Lions in Weeks 15-17? Of course, all three of those opponents rank no better than league average in rush defense EPA and are in the bottom 10 in rushing touchdown rate allowed to running backs.
But the last time we saw him return midseason from an injury, his production lagged by his lofty standards a touch (12.4% below his career average in terms of fantasy points per touch for two weeks). With Jordan Mason posting three RB1 finishes already this season, counting on getting the full “CMC” version of McCaffrey before December is a real concern.
If you have a strong team that can be patient and the McCaffrey manager is in desperation mode, offering an option that will produce top-12 numbers over the next 4-6 weeks is logical (Josh Jacobs and David Montgomery types), but I’d be careful about overpaying for an unknown, especially if you’re in the middle of your standings.
Just be sure to evaluate any trade using the free PFN Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer.