Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Travis Etienne Jr.

Tuesday, June 23, 5:13 AM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has become one of fantasy's greatest paradoxes. In 2025, he played in all 17 games and finished as the RB1 by a substantial margin, marking the fifth time in the last eight seasons that he's played at least 16 games, with accompanying finishes of RB1, RB1, RB2, RB1, and RB3. McCaffrey is one of the most unique weapons in the game, as dangerous aligned out wide as he is from the backfield, making him nearly impossible to remove from the field despite yearly discussions about limiting his workload. Unfortunately, his unquestioned bell cow role has come with predictable wear and tear and a number of catastrophic injuries, and three times over those eight years, he's played in seven or fewer games. McCaffrey is now 30 years old and coming off the heaviest workload of his career, handling more than 430 opportunities in 2025, and his fantasy outlook remains familiar: if he makes it through another full season, he's as strong a bet as anyone to finish as the RB1, but getting there means facing the type of physical strain that very few human beings on the planet are equipped to handle. With injury risk pitted against upside, McCaffrey is RotoBaller's RB3 for 2026.