Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Juwan Johnson

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.

Thursday, February 12, 1:13 PM

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson finally broke out during the 2025 season, largely due to his rapport with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough. Last year was Johnson's sixth in the NFL, and it seems like there had been buzz about a Johnson breakout nearly every season. It didn't come to fruition through his first five campaigns in the NFL, mostly because of a crowded tight end room and poor quarterback play. He turned the corner early last season with Spencer Rattler at quarterback, but he really took his productivity to the next level with Shough under center. Johnson finished the 2025 season with 77 catches, 889 yards, and three touchdowns, ranking as the overall TE8 in full-PPR leagues. Signed through 2027, Johnson has a steady future in New Orleans and could take another big step forward next year, especially now that the Saints seem to have some consistency at the quarterback position. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end should enter 2026 fantasy drafts as a mid-to-low TE1.