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San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was asked to do more than just about any player at his position in the league last year, as he carried the ball 311 times and was targeted another 129 times.
In total, McCaffrey rushed for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns on 3.9 yards per attempt and caught 102 passes for an additional 924 yards and seven scores in 17 games.
That effort made McCaffrey the top-scoring player in fantasy football last year, totaling 416.6 points (24.5 per game) in PPR leagues.
While McCaffrey's 2025 campaign was remarkable, Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport predicts that San Francisco's top running back will be a bust for fantasy football purposes in 2026.
"In terms of average draft position, Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers is the third running back off fantasy draft boards and the sixth pick overall," Davenport wrote. "The average statistical decline for running backs who eclipse 370 touches in a season since 2016 is about 48 percent. The average statistical decline for running backs who have topped 2,000 total yards in a season since 2010 is over 50 percent.
"Then there's the matter of us having seen this movie before with McCaffrey—twice. After the 30-year-old had 403 touches and 2,392 total yards in 2019, he played in just three games in 2020; after he piled up 2,023 total yards on just 339 touches in 2023, he played in four games in 2024. McCaffrey's workload last year was bigger than in either of those seasons. He's older than in either of those seasons."
Health is the biggest question for McCaffrey in 2026 after his usage in 2025. Even if he is healthy, the 49ers have more weapons heading into this year than they did last year, which should allow the running back to take a step back.
McCaffrey could still be a great contributor for San Francisco in 2026, but it seems unlikely that he'll be worth his draft status in fantasy leagues this year.
More 49ers: 49ers first-round pick expected to drastically improve in 2026
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: NFL analyst has unfortunate prediction for 49ers star in 2026
Continue reading...
In total, McCaffrey rushed for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns on 3.9 yards per attempt and caught 102 passes for an additional 924 yards and seven scores in 17 games.
That effort made McCaffrey the top-scoring player in fantasy football last year, totaling 416.6 points (24.5 per game) in PPR leagues.
While McCaffrey's 2025 campaign was remarkable, Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport predicts that San Francisco's top running back will be a bust for fantasy football purposes in 2026.
"In terms of average draft position, Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers is the third running back off fantasy draft boards and the sixth pick overall," Davenport wrote. "The average statistical decline for running backs who eclipse 370 touches in a season since 2016 is about 48 percent. The average statistical decline for running backs who have topped 2,000 total yards in a season since 2010 is over 50 percent.
"Then there's the matter of us having seen this movie before with McCaffrey—twice. After the 30-year-old had 403 touches and 2,392 total yards in 2019, he played in just three games in 2020; after he piled up 2,023 total yards on just 339 touches in 2023, he played in four games in 2024. McCaffrey's workload last year was bigger than in either of those seasons. He's older than in either of those seasons."
Health is the biggest question for McCaffrey in 2026 after his usage in 2025. Even if he is healthy, the 49ers have more weapons heading into this year than they did last year, which should allow the running back to take a step back.
McCaffrey could still be a great contributor for San Francisco in 2026, but it seems unlikely that he'll be worth his draft status in fantasy leagues this year.
More 49ers: 49ers first-round pick expected to drastically improve in 2026
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: NFL analyst has unfortunate prediction for 49ers star in 2026
Continue reading...
