Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Bucky Irving

Tuesday, April 22, 6:30 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey says that he has been participating in his offseason program without any restrictions. Head coach Kyle Shanahan noted that McCaffrey is healthy and doing great at the moment. The oft-injured back was only able to play in four games last season due to injuries. When healthy, McCaffrey is a stud, but he has only been healthy for two full seasons since 2020. The 28-year-old is a no-doubt RB1 when he's a full-go, so hopefully that will be the case in 2025.

Monday, January 13, 12:53 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving rushed for 77 yards on 17 carries during Sunday's playoff loss to the Washington Commanders. He also caught two passes for an additional six yards through the air. In the loss, Irving averaged his lowest yards per carry since Week 9 (excluding his injury-shortened Week 14), which is not an indictment on his performance but rather a testament to just how well he's been running the football lately. He carved out the lead-back role once again on Sunday, registering 17 carries to Rachaad White's one. White has essentially been delegated to pass-catching situations, and even then, he continues to lose opportunities to Irving. It has been fascinating to watch this backfield dynamic develop throughout the season, with White slipping way down from the RB1 tier in fantasy football while Irving becomes one of the top running backs in dynasty fantasy football (and a mid-range RB1 in redraft leagues, too). Barring an unexpected change or addition within the Buccaneers' backfield, Irving should remain their primary ball carrier entering 2025.