Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or De'Von Achane

Thursday, February 5, 5:06 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was named the 2025 Comeback Player of the Year on Thursday night, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. McCaffrey was limited to only four games in 2024 due to Achilles and knee issues, but he played in all 17 regular-season games in 2025 and led the 49ers in both rushing (1,202) and receiving yards (924). The four-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro handled a career-high 311 carries and scored 10 rushing touchdowns while also catching 102 passes on 129 targets with an additional seven trips to the end zone as a receiver. The Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 was the RB1 in half-PPR fantasy scoring this year after he slipped to the late first round of many drafts following his injury-plagued 2024 campaign. CMC is entering his age-30 campaign and has a lengthy injury history, but it's simply too hard to ignore his game-changing dual-threat abilities out of the backfield as the engine of San Fran's offense.

Sunday, February 1, 6:56 AM

The Miami Dolphins offense faces plenty of question marks this offseason, but running back De'Von Achane offers refreshing consistency. Achane is under contract for the 2026 season and has been playing the best football of his young career. He finished last season with a career-high 1,350 rushing yards, and he also caught 67 passes for 488 receiving yards. For the second year in a row, he scored 12 touchdowns and was the overall RB5 in full-PPR leagues. This past year, he accomplished those marks despite missing one game. Miami did make a concerted effort to get Ollie Gordon II and Jaylen Wright more involved, but that decision didn't really detract from Achane's role. If anything, it kept his legs fresh and allowed him to remain as dominant as ever. The Dolphins did make a coaching staff change this offseason, replacing offensive-minded head coach Mike McDaniel with the defensive-minded Jeff Hafley. Achane also got a new offensive coordinator in Bobby Slowik, who was with the Dolphins as a senior passing game coordinator in 2025. Miami has some key questions to answer surrounding quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill this offseason. As a result, the passing game faces major uncertainty. However, we expect the running game to remain unchanged, leaving Achane in line for another fantastic season in 2026. He should be a top-five running back in fantasy football drafts next summer.