Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Chuba Hubbard

Thursday, January 1, 6:31 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (back) was removed from the Week 18 injury report on Thursday and will play on Saturday night against the division-rival Seattle Seahawks, according to Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area. McCaffrey has dealt with a bit of back stiffness in the final month of the regular season, but it hasn't been a serious issue, and he'll be fine this weekend as the Niners look to secure the No. 1 seed, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The 29-year-old is coming off a second straight 100-yard rushing game in the Week 17 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, in which he had 23 carries for a season-high 140 yards and one touchdown on the ground. CMC added 41 receiving yards on four catches. He remains the do-it-all focal point of San Fran's offense and is a must-start, high-end RB1 in all fantasy leagues in Week 18.

Monday, December 29, 10:18 PM

Chuba Hubbard had four carries for 12 yards in the Carolina Panthers' 27-10 defeat in Week 17. He added six yards on three receptions and finished the game with 2.8 PPR Points. It was his lowest fantasy total since Week 10, and it was his third consecutive week with less than 5.0 PPR points. Carolina faces the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18 in an important game to determine the NFC South title. Tampa Bay ranked 15th in Fantasy Points Per Game allowed to the RB position in the last four weeks leading up to Week 17. In Week 16 against the Buccaneers, Hubbard had six carries for 27 yards and 4.4 PPR points. Hubbard's volume is too inconsistent to warrant a roster spot if you are still playing in Week 18, and he does not deserve any DFS consideration. Since Week 9, Hubbard had double-digit carries in only one game and eight or fewer carries in each of his last three. Hubbard remains off the fantasy radar for those playing in Week 18 despite the importance of this game against Tampa Bay. There is no need to handcuff him anymore if you roster Rico Dowdle. Cut Hubbard if you still have him on the roster and want to block your opponent from picking up certain players.