Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Chuba Hubbard

Sunday, October 19, 11:44 PM

The San Francisco 49ers have been as banged up as any team in the NFL this year, but they can beat any team in the league as long as star running back Christian McCaffrey is healthy. McCaffrey once again dominated offensive touches for San Fran in Sunday night's victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons in Week 7, touching the football 31 times for 201 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. The 29-year-old do-it-all back had a season-high 24 carries for 129 rushing yards (his first 100-yard game of 2025) and added two rushing scores, as an improved Falcons defense had no answers for him. CMC added seven catches on eight targets for 72 receiving yards. McCaffrey has been the Niners' leading receiver this year and has three receiving touchdowns and three rushing TDs as a balanced offensive threat like few others in the league. Despite another tough test in Week 8 against the Houston Texans' defense, CMC continues to be a must-start, elite RB1 in fantasy football.

Monday, October 20, 2:33 PM

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales told reporters on Monday that he anticipates a continued workload split between his two running backs, Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle. In the two games that Hubbard missed with an injured calf, Dowdle saw a total of 61 opportunities, which he converted into an unreal 470 yards and two scores. In Hubbard's first game back, the two saw a nearly 50/50 workload split, with Hubbard on the field for five more snaps than Dowdle, but Dowdle seeing 18 opportunities to Hubbard's 16. Dowdle was also the more efficient back on the day, averaging 5.3 yards per touch to Hubbard's 3.4, and managing a usable fantasy performance with his 96 yards. For fantasy managers who had feasted on his last two games, it was surely a disappointment, but in the right matchup, both backs should provide enough of a floor to help navigate bye weeks and injuries from the flex spot, especially as Hubbard continues to knock off the rust.