Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Jordan Mason

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.

Wednesday, April 2, 9:44 AM

It sounds as though Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason, who was acquired from the San Francisco 49ers this offseason, will have a notable role in the team's backfield in 2025 as the "1b" behind starter Aaron Jones. "I do think Jordan's gonna bring something to the table in those short-yardage situations, those goal-line situations, goal-to-go, where we've really left a lot to be desired as a football team," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. If healthy, Jones should be Minnesota's go-to guy on the early downs and on third down in obvious passing situations, but the presence of Mason as the potential goal-line guy for the Vikes could be bad news for Jones' fantasy ceiling and floor this upcoming season. Mason, 25, has averaged at least 5.2 yards per carry in his three years in the NFL and looked good filling in for the injured Christian McCaffrey in 2025. He'll be a handcuff to Jones but could also be in play as a touchdown-dependent RB3/flex in deeper leagues.