Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Kenneth Walker III

Tuesday, July 22, 5:34 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (knee) and offensive tackle Trent Williams (ankle) are both "here and healthy" at training camp, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan. Both players are ready to go, but their workloads will be managed throughout camp. McCaffrey was an absolute bust for fantasy managers in 2024, as he ended up missing 13 games, first due to Achilles tendinitis in both his legs, and then due to a PCL sprain in his right knee. The 29-year-old also took part in offseason activities and looked healthy then, so he shouldn't be limited in any way once the 2025 regular season begins. While CMC still has game-changing abilities and will be heavily featured in San Fran's offense, he has slipped to RB5 in RotoBaller's rankings because of his penchant for injury. McCaffrey is about as risk/reward as they come.

Wednesday, July 23, 8:12 PM

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (ankle) was limited during spring workouts with an ankle injury but was a full-go on Day 1 of training camp on Wednesday. "He looks great. He's in a great spot mentally. Awesome to see him do all the things we want him to do from the get-go. I know he's really excited about what's going on. Great first day with Ken," head coach Mike Macdonald said. An ankle injury limited Walker to one appearance in the last five weeks of the 2024 season, but he appears to be recovered and ready to prove that he's still the team's No. 1 back over Zach Charbonnet. Walker has been plenty productive for fantasy managers when he's been healthy, but the problem is that he always seems to be dealing with a lower-body injury. Seattle could decide to give Charbonnet a bigger role in 2025 to help keep Walker healthy, making him a risk/reward RB2 in fantasy.