Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or J.K. Dobbins

Friday, June 13, 12:53 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (knee) was one of the few high-profile veterans who took part in 11-on-11 situations during offseason workouts in recent weeks, according to The Athletic's Matt Barrows. McCaffrey wanted to test himself after last year's injury-plagued season in which he dealt with Achilles and knee injuries that limited him to just four games played. "I wanted to put myself in a position where I didn't miss a day of OTAs and I could practice and play football again and be healthy again and not miss a day. And I did that. And now we can kind of kick back up to training again," McCaffrey said. After being the biggest fantasy bust in 2024, CMC has dropped to the RB6 in RotoBaller's 2025 fantasy rankings at the position. He's once again a risk/reward pick, having played fewer than eight games in three of the last five seasons.

Wednesday, June 11, 12:52 PM

ESPN's Jeff Legwold writes that the Denver Broncos figure to give new running back J.K. Dobbins a long look in the third-down role ahead of Week 1 of the 2025 regular season. Dobbins has dealt with multiple injuries since being drafted in 2020, mainly knee and Achilles injuries, but he had career-highs in rushing yards (905), catches (32) and receiving yards (153) last year with the Los Angeles Chargers and tied his career best with nine rushing touchdowns. And that was with him missing four games in 2024 with an MCL sprain. Javonte Williams led the Broncos in carries (139) and rushing yards (513) last year, but he's now in Dallas. Second-round rookie RB RJ Harvey is the favorite for lead-back duties in 2025, but Dobbins (if healthy) could be a nice RB3/flex option for fantasy managers in PPR leagues if he captures the full-time third-down role.