Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Chase Brown

Tuesday, July 22, 5:34 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (knee) and offensive tackle Trent Williams (ankle) are both "here and healthy" at training camp, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Both players are ready to go, but their workloads will be managed throughout camp. McCaffrey was an absolute bust for fantasy managers in 2024, as he ended up missing 13 games, first due to Achilles tendinitis in both his legs, and then due to a PCL sprain in his right knee. The 29-year-old also took part in offseason activities and looked healthy then, so he shouldn't be limited in any way once the 2025 regular season begins. While CMC still has game-changing abilities and will be heavily featured in San Fran's offense, he has slipped to RB5 in RotoBaller's rankings because of his penchant for injury. McCaffrey is about as risk/reward as they come.

Friday, July 25, 1:17 PM

Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein reports that Cincinnati Bengals coaches and players have been very high on running back Chase Brown this summer. "I think Chase Brown is going to, by the end of the season, be a household name," offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. "He's everything that Austin Ekeler was. I think that by the time the season's over, [you'll all] know who he is." Pitcher has also said the Brown will be a focal point of the offense this year, which seems like a good idea after he ran for 990 yards and seven touchdowns on 229 carries in 16 regular-season games (10 starts) in 2024. He also caught 54 of his 65 targets for 360 yards and four touchdowns, proving he can really do it all. Brown had at least 50 snaps and 15 touches in each of his last eight games. The Bengals could look to spell him when they need to, but he's at least a low-end RB1 target in fantasy.