Who Should I Start? Cordarrelle Patterson or Christian McCaffrey

Tuesday, October 8, 1:18 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that running back Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) is out for Week 6 against the Las Vegas Raiders, while running back Jaylen Warren (knee) is considered doubtful. Both Patterson and Warren missed the Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, and it looks like they'll both miss a second straight game this week. Lead back Najee Harris disappointed with 14 carries for 42 yards while catching both of his targets for 35 yards on Sunday night with both Patterson and Warren out. He needs to be in all starting fantasy lineups in Week 6, though, in a smash spot in Vegas with the backfield pretty much all to himself yet again. Warren was a solid weekly flex option in fantasy in 2023, but he hasn't been healthy early on this year and has just 14 carries for 54 yards and five catches for 28 yards in his three games played.

Thursday, October 10, 7:58 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) is targeting an early November return from Injured Reserve. McCaffrey was technically eligible to come off IR to play on Thursday night in Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks, but that was never going to happen. The fact that CMC has yet to practice means he still has a ways to go before he can even think about making his 2024 debut. Fantasy managers obviously can do nothing but hope McCaffrey returns sooner than later and keep him stashed in an IR spot. In the meantime, Jordan Mason, who has been one of the league's leading rushers through five weeks, will continue to serve as San Fran's lead back. Mason is the RB5 in half-PPR scoring heading into Thursday night's game against Seattle and should be deployed in all fantasy starting lineups against a beat-up defense.