Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Elijah Mitchell

Tuesday, April 1, 10:43 PM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that running back Christian McCaffrey (knee) is "healthy and doing great" this offseason. Despite playing in just four games in 2024 due to Achilles and knee injuries, McCaffrey said back in January that he was close to 100 percent and probably would have played if the team had advanced to the playoffs. The 28-year-old do-it-all back averaged a mediocre 4.0 yards per carry on his 50 rushing attempts in 2024. Jordan Mason was traded to the Minnesota Vikings this offseason, and although CMC is still the team's unquestioned lead back when healthy, it's possible that Isaac Guerendo could see more complementary work in the backfield in 2025. McCaffrey surely won't be the No. 1 overall fantasy pick this fall after being the biggest bust in 2024, but although there's plenty of injury risk, the upside will still make him hard to pass up as a high-end RB1.

Monday, March 10, 12:48 PM

The Kansas City Chiefs are signing free-agent running back Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) to a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million on Monday, sources tell FOX Sports' Jordan Schultz. Mitchell, who was a sixth-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 out of Louisiana, will now join the Chiefs backfield as depth behind Isiah Pacheco for the 2025 season. Barring another injury for the injury-plagued RB, he'll likely enter Week 1 this fall as the No. 2 behind Pacheco. Mitchell has averaged a healthy 4.7 yards per carry on 327 rushing attempts over his three seasons in the NFL, but he's only appeared in 27 games (12 starts) due to injury. He suffered a hamstring injury in training camp last year and was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve in August before the regular season even began. At best, Mitchell will be a deep-league handcuff option for those that have Pacheco rostered.