Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or David Montgomery

Wednesday, January 7, 3:00 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey finished 2025 as the RB1 in almost all fantasy formats, and he carries the same projection into most fantasy playoff leagues. San Francisco opens the playoffs against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles and a defensive front that scarcely resembles the one that gave Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs fits in Super Bowl LIX. The Eagles were the 10th most generous fantasy defense to opposing running backs, and McCaffrey comes into the matchup having finished as the RB12 or better in 14 of 17 starts in Full-PPR formats. He is RotoBaller's RB1 for Wild Card Weekend and, given San Francisco's status as 4.5-point road underdogs, an obvious must-start in formats that allow players to be started only once.

Thursday, January 8, 7:31 PM

Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery is under contract through the 2027 season, but his future with the team could be up in the air this offseason. "Those are discussions that we're gonna have to have in-depth. We love David Montgomery. He's a good football player. ...He deserves to be in a situation where his skill set can be utilized," general manager Brad Holmes said when asked if Montgomery will remain with the team. If the Lions cut the 28-year-old in the offseason, they'll save $11.26 million but will also take on $8.6 million in dead money. Monty took a clear back seat to Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit's backfield in 2025. He was still a weekly RB3/flex consideration in fantasy football, though, and finished with a career-low 158 carries for 716 yards and eight rushing touchdowns in 17 games, adding 24 catches for 192 yards. Monty's 2026 fantasy value could look drastically different if he's playing in another city.