Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or Christian McCaffrey

Thursday, November 20, 12:34 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle, foot) is not expected to play this season as he deals with a foot injury from the offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Mixon will likely stay on the Physically Unable to Perform list through the end of the 2025 season, while the Texans move forward with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks in their backfield. Things had been trending this way for a while, as the Texans haven't been giving any real updates on Mixon for pretty much the entire season. Fantasy managers who are still stashing the 29-year-old in redraft leagues should send him to the waiver wire now. Mixon's injury dates all the way back to spring workouts. One would think he'd be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign, but there has been little information about the exact nature of his injury. Marks, a fourth-rounder in April, has slowly started to see more work and should be the backfield leader over Chubb by the end of the year.

Saturday, November 22, 5:26 AM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was the overall RB1 in Week 11, his third such finish in the last five weeks and his tenth top-10 finish in 2025. McCaffrey is in a good spot to attempt a repeat against the Carolina Panthers on Monday night. Much of McCaffrey's production in 2025 has come as a pass-catcher, but with Carolina offering up 4.72 yards per carry to opposing running backs this season, there is reason to believe he will do more damage on the ground than usual in Week 12. Carolina has been especially bad over the last four weeks, giving up a league-worst six rushing touchdowns and the fourth-most fantasy points per game to running backs. It goes without saying that McCaffrey should be in starting lineups in Week 12, but fantasy football managers are justified in feeling especially optimistic about what the superstar will produce in his first game against his former team.