Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Chris Collier

Thursday, February 27, 6:29 PM

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said on Wednesday at the NFL Combine that running back Christian McCaffrey (knee) is "doing great" and that he thinks the star RB will be able to participate in "at least parts" of the offseason program. McCaffrey was a bust at the top of fantasy drafts last fall, as he played in just four games in 2024. He missed the first two months with bilateral Achilles tendinitis and then suffered a season-ending PCL injury on Dec. 1 in the loss to the Buffalo Bills. The 28-year-old's fantasy stock will take a hit in 2025 because of his injury-plagued season, but it's hard to forget that he has rushed for 2,407 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns while catching 134 passes for 1,174 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns in 31 games since he joined San Fran midway through the 2022 season. If healthy, CMC can be a league-winner, but the injury risk is very high.

Saturday, August 24, 10:16 PM

Baltimore Ravens running back Chris Collier received the most work in the backfield again on Saturday, but couldn't turn it into much. The rookie out of Lock Haven University turned 13 carries into 42 yards and was only targeted once but didn't catch it. Now that the preseason has concluded, Collier finished with a total of 82 yards on 28 carries and two catches for 22 yards. He could only muster a 2.8 yards per carry average while the run game failed to do much throughout the preseason. Collier may still make the team at the end of the depth chart, but it seems like more than a long shot to see him on the field for anything other than special teams this season.