A strong case could be made that Christian McCaffrey is the best player in the history of fantasy football. CMC has a LaDainian Tomlinson-level ability to rack up league-winning numbers in both rushing and receiving. The caveat with McCaffrey, though, is always his health.
CMC has played in nine NFL seasons thus far. In three of those seasons, he played in less than 8 games.
Last year was a great one for McCaffrey in terms of health and production. The former Stanford standout played in all 17 regular-season games for the 49ers, amassing 1,202 yards rushing and 924 yards receiving.
Below, we will deliver a McCaffrey injury update ahead of Week 1 of the season.
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Christian McCaffrey fantasy football injury update: Is CMC healthy ahead of Week 1?
It’s a safe bet that CMC will never play in a pre-season NFL game again.
The 49ers have been all but covering their star running back in bubble-wrap during the summer months the past few years. Last year, that due diligence paid off as CMC played in each game of the 49ers’ regular season.
This year in training camp and the pre-season, it was more of the same for McCaffrey. CMC was sidelined with “tightness” for the brunt of August. He did not participate in team drills from August 8 to August 23.
“Obviously when you don’t practice, the way the media works now, it’s a firestorm,” McCaffrey told NBC Sports Bay Area. “This [absence] was kind of part of the plan from the jump - to ramp up pretty big, get nine or 10 practices in, kind of come back down, and then ramp up again so we’re fresh for the duration.
“Our staff has done a great job of coming up with specific plans, and I feel great. I feel fresh and it’s great to get back out there.”
It appears to be all-systems-go for McCaffrey ahead of the 49ers’ season opener in Australia against the Super Bowl-favorite LA Rams. The 30-year-old should have no limitations at the start of the season.
Here is a look at the 49ers schedule to start the campaign.
- Week 1 Thursday, September 10: Rams vs. 49ers
- Week 2 Sunday, September 20: Dolphins at Rams
- Week 3 Sunday, September 27: Cardinals at Rams
- Week 4 Sunday, October 4: Broncos at Rams
Christian McCaffrey Fantasy Football ADP and odds
McCaffrey is again one of the more disputed names in fantasy football drafts. He currently has an ADP of 4 at FantasyPros. The earliest he has gone in drafts is 3 and the latest is 28.
The variance is obviously due to his injury history, but - again - when healthy, there is no better player in fantasy football.
CMC produced 10 rushing touchdowns last season, and he tied a career-high with 7 receiving TDs.
McCaffrey is +20000 at Fanatics Sportsbook to win NFL MVP. His season-long rushing Over/Under number has been set at 899.5 yards.
49ers odds
The 49ers currently have +1900 Super Bowl odds at Fanatics. Kyle Shanahan’s squad has a win total projection of 10.5, with juice on the Under.
The Niners are +325 to win the highly-competitive NFC West. The Rams (-115) and Seahawks (+215) have shorter division odds.
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