Fantasy Football Player Notes

It's obviously risky to draft Christian McCaffrey. He played only four games last year due to bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a PCL injury. Over his 10-year career, there have been four seasons in which McCaffrey played seven or fewer games. And now he's 29 years old. But the potential rewards are vast. McCaffrey is two years removed from having more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns. He's in a Kyle Shanahan offense. If McCaffrey stays healthy, he's going to smash, which is why he still warrants consideration as a late first-round or early second-round pick.

With seventh-round rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt drawing raves in Washington's training camp, the Commanders traded Robinson to the 49ers for a sixth-round draft pick. Robinson will probably be the top backup to 49ers lead RB Christian McCaffrey, although the San Francisco RB room also includes second-year man Isaac Guerendo and rookie Jordan James. There's zero stand-alone value for Robinson now, but he appears to be the preferred handcuff for McCaffrey and would have considerable upside in Kyle Shanahan's RB-friendly system if CMC were to go down.

Isaac Guerendo was poised to be among the most valuable handcuff RBs in fantasy football this year as the presumed backup to the oft-injured Christian McCaffrey, who played only four games last year. But an Aug. 22 trade that brought ex-Commander Brian Robinson Jr. to San Francisco put Guerendo's role in doubt. Guerendo showed some intriguing flashes as a rookie. When he made his first two NFL starts in Weeks 14 and 15, he rolled up 203 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in those contests. But Guerendo now appears to have little redraft value for 2025.