Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Isiah Pacheco

Saturday, December 27, 4:04 AM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has finished outside of the top ten at his position just twice in 2025. The heart of San Francisco's offense, McCaffrey leads the team in targets per game, is averaging 125.9 scrimmage yards per game, and has scored a touchdown in all but four of the 49ers' games this season. CMC's role in the passing game regressed in recent weeks until his 6-29-2 line on eight targets in Week 16. His target share may remain elevated in Week 17, as tight end George Kittle (ankle) is a game-time decision and Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle) is questionable. McCaffrey has a welcome matchup against the Bears in Week 17. Chicago has allowed the sixth-most rushing yards per game and the second-most rushing yards before contact per attempt this year. As always, McCaffrey is in contention for an RB1 finish and should be locked into lineups for the final weekend of the fantasy football season.

Wednesday, December 24, 4:00 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco has seemingly reclaimed his leadback role in the backfield, but it comes when the team turns to Chris Oladokun to be the starting quarterback. Pacheco rushed eight times for 34 yards, but the most surprising part of his stat line came in the receiving game. The 26-year-old was targeted a team-high seven times and caught six passes for 41 yards in last week's loss to the Tennessee Titans. The scoring opportunities will likely be few and far between for Pacheco, but once Oladokun stepped in as the starter, the running backs were targeted six times out of 16 attempts, and five of those went in Pacheco's direction. Pacheco will also have to deal with the Denver Broncos defense in Week 17. The Broncos have allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs and the second-fewest rushing yards per game this season. Pacheco is ranked RB37 in our RotoBaller Half-PPR rankings, making him an RB3/Flex option for the fantasy playoffs. It could be an ugly game for Pacheco, but he should get enough opportunities to be worth considering.