Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Zamir White

Thursday, February 27, 6:29 PM

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said on Wednesday at the NFL Combine that running back Christian McCaffrey (knee) is "doing great" and that he thinks the star RB will be able to participate in "at least parts" of the offseason program. McCaffrey was a bust at the top of fantasy drafts last fall, as he played in just four games in 2024. He missed the first two months with bilateral Achilles tendinitis and then suffered a season-ending PCL injury on Dec. 1 in the loss to the Buffalo Bills. The 28-year-old's fantasy stock will take a hit in 2025 because of his injury-plagued season, but it's hard to forget that he has rushed for 2,407 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns while catching 134 passes for 1,174 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns in 31 games since he joined San Fran midway through the 2022 season. If healthy, CMC can be a league-winner, but the injury risk is very high.

Saturday, March 1, 12:23 PM

Las Vegas Raiders running back Zamir White is believed to be available via trade this offseason if some teams want to take a chance on the former fourth-rounder in 2022 out of the University of Georgia, according to The Athletic's Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed. White had some great moments for the Raiders in 2023 before falling off last year to a scheme change while also ending the year on Injured Reserve due to a quadriceps injury. The 25-year-old was set to take over for Josh Jacobs as the Raiders' lead back in 2024, but that did not happen. White ended up playing in only eight games (five starts) in his third year in the NFL and carried the ball 65 times for 183 yards (career-low 2.8 yards per carry) for one rushing touchdown. He added six catches for 30 yards. A change of scenery would probably be best for White's fantasy stock, but he'd still likely be nothing more than a complementary back elsewhere.