RB · SF · GWTTKB

Christian McCaffrey — fantasy football 2026

Every game, every stat category, and what the board says. 24.51 points per game in 2025, an ADP of 6.1, usage worth 23.1.

30 years old · 9 seasons of experience · 2017 draft class

Updated 2026-08-16 · free, no account, no paywall
Every figure below comes from our database. Where a stat is not held, the row is absent rather than zero.
ADP 6.1
Consensus across 4 books, standard deviation 0.7, 1.3 picks between cheapest and priciest. Cheapest on espn, priciest on sleeper.
SLEEPER5.4
ESPN6.7
YAHOO5.5
UNDERDOG6.3
CBS6.6
FFA5

Draft-room facts

Goes aroundRound 1, pick 6 in a 12-team draft
Positional rankRB3
Bye week8
ADP standard deviation0.7 picks

What we project for 2026

Our board has him at 310.7 points, 19.4 per game — 970 rushing yards, 9.6 rushing TDs, 70 catches. That is RB1, 5 overall.

The range runs from a floor of 18.1 points per game to a ceiling of 27.3, with the median at 19.4. Boom rate 41%, bust rate 7%. The spread is the actual bet, not the middle number.

He goes at 6.1 on consensus and our board has him 5. Those agree, so there is no market disagreement to exploit. The question is whether you want the profile, not whether it is mispriced.

Our written view

Full-PPR riser - coming off a 100-catch season; if healthy into Week 1 he's a top-3 RB and the late-August market may push him into the top 3 picks. RB ADPs are climbing league-wide and he's a prime beneficiary. Health is the only real question.

buy · high conviction · 2026-06-14

The offense he plays in, 2026

San Francisco 49ers returns 5 of 6 continuity slots, replacing wr1. Brock Purdy at quarterback, Kyle Shanahan as head coach, Klay Kubiak calling it. The offense projects to 33.7 pass attempts a game at high confidence and 27.7 rushes.

In: Mike Evans (wr1), De'Zhaun Stribling (wr2), Christian Kirk (wr4), Jacob Cowing (wr7), Kaelon Black (rb2). Out: Jauan Jennings (wr1), Kendrick Bourne (wr3), Brian Robinson Jr. (rb2).

The projected carry split across the offense:

Christian McCaffrey 58.4%
Kaelon Black25%
Jordan James15.3%
Isaac Guerendo1.3%

Our written view on this offense in 2026

Key additions: Signed WR Mike Evans from Bucs in free agency. Signed WR Christian Kirk in free agency. Drafted WR De'Zhaun Stribling in the 2nd round from Ole Miss. Drafted RB Kaelon Black in the 3rd round.

Key departures: WR Brandon Aiyuk (who did not play all of 2025 due to injury) is gone. WR Jauan Jennings is also gone. He has functioned as 49ers WR 1/2 for the past two seasons. RB Brian Robinson Jr left to ATL in free agency.

Notes: Stribling round 2 has opportunity to break out early. Mike Evans signing in free agency. Should be alpha WR1 but aging & injury risk. Potential sell high but should produce in 2026. Drafted RB Kaelon Black round 3 from Indiana. Black was not even invited to the NFL combine, but 49ers LOVE him. Could assume RB2 role immediately if he beats out Jordan James. Ricky Pearsall has an opportunity to break out as a WR2 but needs to stay healthy enough to do so. Signed Christian Kirk in offseason, veteran with no fantasy value but will take away targets. Kittle recovering from torn achilles. Drafted Wills the TE. Tonges should function as primary TE2, Wills will be TE3. CMC is a potential sell high candidate but know if healthy he is the number 1 overall RB in 2026.

How the volume number was reached: Same QB Brock Purdy returning — anchor to 2025 actuals (33.7 att/g); Regressed 30% toward league mean 33.5, floored at 30 → 33.6 att/g.

How the carry projection was built

Projected carry share58.4%
Projected carries per game13.3
Projected carries, full season226
Last season, carries per game17.7

That is a reduction of 4.5 carries a game against last season, inside a team projection of 27.7 rushing attempts a game.

Basis: prior usage blend. Carry share is the strongest forward predictor we have measured at the position, so this number carries more weight than any efficiency figure on this page.

Offensive environment: SF rates 25.4 against a league average of 23, 2.4 points above it on opponent-adjusted least squares (multi-capture merge).

2026 schedule

Opponent-adjusted run defense faced, against 2025 ratings. Positive is an easier slate.

Full season-1.6 · harder
Weeks 1–6+0.3 · neutral
Weeks 12–17-5.3 · harder
Fantasy playoffs (15–17)-8.2 · harder

Read this narrowly. Our own testing found that season-long strength of schedule does not survive as a draft input — defensive quality is among the least stable team properties year to year, and a preseason slate is built on last year's identities. The playoff-weeks column is the only one we would let break a tie, and even then it is a tiebreaker rather than a reason. The finding.

What happened when he missed time

From the absence record rather than a depth chart — who actually gained when he was out.

SeasonGames missedMain beneficiaryTheir PPR gain
20213Chuba Hubbard+9
20206Mike Davis+5.4
Read the full Christian McCaffrey study →

Dynasty context not redraft

Everything in this section is about his dynasty trade value — what he is worth as a long-term asset in the trade market. It is not a forecast of his 2026 fantasy scoring. A player can be a fine redraft pick while his dynasty value falls, and the reverse. The redraft read is above; this is a different question with a different answer.

Where he sits in the dynasty value cycle

His dynasty value has moved +8.9% over the last twelve months. The market cycle classifies him as stable.

For context on how long this lasts at the position: the average career at his position produces 1.7 elite seasons and 2.4 startable seasons.

The five most similar seasons, and what their dynasty value did next

Matched on production profile — production-driven (pedigree ignored). The last column is how that player’s dynasty value moved the following year — a market outcome, not a scoring one.

PlayerSeasonTheir PPGSimilarityNext year
Alvin Kamara202118.130%-14.7%
Aaron Jones202414.229%-9.8%
Alvin Kamara20241925%-27.4%
Austin Ekeler202221.925%-16.1%
Joe Mixon202315.724%+42.4%

Of the 5 with a following season on record, 1 gained value, 4 lost it and 0 held roughly flat.

Four years of dynasty value

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,000202120222023202420252026
Monthly superflex value, 2020-04 to 2026-07. Down 49% across the series, peaking at 9,999.

The player

Draft capital and athletic profile

Drafted2017, round 1, pick 8 by CAR
CollegeStanford
Age at draft21
Height5′11″
Weight202 lb
40-yard dash4.48s
Vertical37.5″
Broad jump121″
3-cone6.57s
Shuttle4.22s

Availability and volatility

Career PPR per game22.9
Week-to-week variation0.4
Boom rate13%
Bust rate15.2%
Games missed per season1
Injury historyHamstring, Calf
Correlation between his posted line and his actual score0.36

That correlation is how closely the books’ posted line tracked what he actually scored, week to week. A higher number means the market has him figured out and there is less to exploit; a lower one means his weeks are harder to price.

Injury type matters more than games missed. Measured across our injury database, knee and foot returns stay below a player’s pre-injury baseline for all three of the first games back, while hamstring returns over-recover by the third.

The record, season by season

2025 · SF · 17 games

His best game was Week 7 against ATL — 39.1 PPR on 32 touches and a 33.3% target share, in a game that finished 20-10. His worst was Week 8 against HOU at 9.8, on 14 touches, final score 15-26. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 12 times and came in under 8 points 0 times. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 25.3; in the 11 decided by more, 24.1. He scored more when the game was live.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 23.1 points per game. He scored 24.51, 4.3% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1SEA17-1323.2910732269029.4%76%
2NO26-2122.767521355118.4%77%
3ARI16-15241015881752039.5%91%
4JAX21-2626.1611921749129.7%85%
5LA26-2327.989822257118.8%88%
6TB19-3024.178571754121.6%93%
7ATL20-1039.1787224129233.3%75%
8HOU15-269.83643825019.4%96%
9NYG34-2434.3566728106226.1%86%
10LA26-4217.6810661230025.6%78%
11ARI41-2235.156401381324%71%
12CAR20-927.277532489121.9%83%
13CLE26-817.444212053117.4%79%
15TEN37-2415.71114227313.6%84%
16IND48-2732.6682921117224.2%80%
17CHI42-3828.1464123140118.2%85%
18SEA3-1311.76734823025.9%86%

Production

Receptions102
Targets129
Receiving yards924
Carries311
Rushing yards1,202
Touchdowns17
Points per game24.51
Yards per target7.16
Catch rate79.07%
Yards per carry3.86

Role

Snap share83.12%
Target share23.35%
Air-yards share7.81%
WOPR0.405
RACR5.764

Efficiency

Average depth of target2.3
Yards after catch per reception7.1
Yards before catch per reception2
Total YAC720
Broken tackles11
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted104.9
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game2.3
Rushing EPA per game-1.24

Scoring position

Red-zone targets27
Red-zone target share29.7%
End-zone target share17.6%
Red-zone carry share76.9%
Goal-line carry share77.8%
Expected receiving TDs7.09
Actual receiving TDs8
Receiving TD luck0.91
Expected rushing TDs12.48

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game1 of 49
Yards per target10 of 49
Target share1 of 49
Air-yards share1 of 49

Who else ate

The offense threw it 574 times. He took 24.76% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

Christian McCaffrey 24.76%
Jauan Jennings17.27%
George Kittle13.24%
Kendrick Bourne10.17%
Ricky Pearsall10.17%
Jake Tonges8.83%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Brock Purdy96024.126.6221.59%
Mac Jones86924.947.6425.34%

Blowouts against close games

3 of his 17 games were blowouts, 20.4% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 28.37 in those and 25.33 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2024 · SF · 4 games

His best game was Week 10 against TB — 16.7 PPR on 20 touches and a 20.6% target share, in a game that finished 23-20. His worst was Week 12 against GB at 7.8, on 15 touches, final score 10-38. Across 4 games he cleared 20 points 0 times and came in under 8 points 1 time.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 15.5 points per game. He scored 11.95, 22.7% below it. The engine classified the season as unlucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
10TB23-2016.767681339020.6%88%
11SEA17-2014.645271979017.9%94%
12GB10-387.834371131015.4%82%
13BUF10-358.72314753017.6%25%

Production

Receptions15
Targets19
Receiving yards146
Carries50
Rushing yards202
Touchdowns0
Points per game11.95
Yards per target7.68
Catch rate78.95%
Yards per carry4.04

Role

Snap share72.25%
Target share17.88%
Air-yards share6.5%
WOPR0.315
RACR1.255

Efficiency

Average depth of target3.2
Yards after catch per reception6.5
Yards before catch per reception3.2
Total YAC98
Broken tackles1
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted76.8
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game-1.44
Rushing EPA per game-0.72

Scoring position

Red-zone targets4
Red-zone target share4.9%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share7.1%
Goal-line carry share3.6%
Expected receiving TDs0.74
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck-0.74
Expected rushing TDs0.66

Who else ate

The offense threw it 533 times. He took 3.94% of the targets. 3 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Jauan Jennings23.44%
George Kittle19.5%
Deebo Samuel16.8%
Brandon Aiyuk9.75%
Ricky Pearsall9.54%
Christian McCaffrey 3.94%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 2 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Brock Purdy31513.337.2718.7%
Brandon Allen147.89.2515.4%

Blowouts against close games

2 of his 4 games were blowouts, 34.5% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 8.25 in those and 15.65 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2023 · SF · 16 games

His best game was Week 4 against ARI — 48.7 PPR on 28 touches and a 38.1% target share, in a game that finished 35-16. His worst was Week 17 against WAS at 13.1, on 19 touches, final score 27-10. Across 16 games he cleared 20 points 12 times and came in under 8 points 0 times. In the 3 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 19.8; in the 13 decided by more, 25.5. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 18.9 points per game. He scored 24.46, 33.8% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1PIT30-725.9351722152117.9%85%
2LA30-2322.5331920116112.5%100%
3NYG30-1222.955341885114.7%61%
4ARI35-1648.7787120106438.1%85%
5DAL42-1013.823271951112%73%
6CLE17-1914.23391143112.5%58%
7MIN17-2222.633511545210.3%100%
8CIN17-3129.867641254223.3%97%
10JAX34-320.2610471695037%76%
11TB27-1421.355252178120%87%
12SEA31-1330.9562519114220%77%
13PHI42-1922.334401793116%88%
14SEA28-1616.31181614503.7%89%
15ARI45-2941.7557218115319.2%77%
16BAL19-3325.16102814103122.7%100%
17WAS27-1013.145271464018.5%54%

Production

Receptions67
Targets83
Receiving yards564
Carries272
Rushing yards1,459
Touchdowns21
Points per game24.46
Yards per target6.8
Catch rate80.72%
Yards per carry5.36

Role

Snap share81.69%
Target share18.65%
Air-yards share3.89%
WOPR0.307
RACR-1.12

Efficiency

Average depth of target1.8
Yards after catch per reception6.9
Yards before catch per reception1.5
Total YAC461
Broken tackles2
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted113.1
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game0.4
Rushing EPA per game0.9

Scoring position

Red-zone targets18
Red-zone target share22.2%
End-zone target share12%
Red-zone carry share62.7%
Goal-line carry share52.5%
Expected receiving TDs4.53
Actual receiving TDs5
Receiving TD luck0.47
Expected rushing TDs12.81

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game1 of 49
Yards per target8 of 49
Target share1 of 49
Air-yards share1 of 49

Who else ate

The offense threw it 491 times. He took 18.28% of the targets. 3 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Brandon Aiyuk23.13%
George Kittle19.82%
Deebo Samuel19.6%
Christian McCaffrey 18.28%
Jauan Jennings7.27%
Ray-Ray McCloud3.3%

Blowouts against close games

8 of his 16 games were blowouts, 50.6% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 24.73 in those and 19.77 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2022 · CAR · 17 games

His best game was Week 8 against LA — 40.26 PPR on 27 touches and a 34.6% target share, in a game that finished 31-14. His worst was Week 7 against KC at 8.2, on 10 touches, final score 23-44. Across 17 games he cleared 20 points 8 times and came in under 8 points 0 times. In the 6 games decided by 8 points or fewer he averaged 20.1; in the 11 decided by more, 21.4. He scored more when the game was not close.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 18 points per game. He scored 20.96, 15.6% above it. The engine classified the season as lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1CLE24-2615.745241033119.2%81%
2NYG16-1916.8452615102018.5%91%
3NO22-1413.524725108016.7%80%
4ARI16-2625.89981827125%87%
5SF15-3723.4712501454130%86%
6LA10-2422.878891369038.1%86%
7KC23-448.2222483804.3%29%
8LA31-1440.2689551894334.6%81%
10LAC22-1617.746391438121.4%65%
11ARI38-1017.67767739024.1%66%
12NO13-08.946171132016.2%63%
13MIA33-1728.6810801766125%82%
14TB35-729.3233414119213.6%70%
15SEA21-1325.8683026108130.8%89%
16WAS37-2013.82212154619.5%75%
17LV37-3431.3697219121126.5%85%
18ARI38-1316.933341045115%48%

Production

Receptions85
Targets108
Receiving yards741
Carries244
Rushing yards1,139
Touchdowns14
Points per game20.96
Yards per target6.86
Catch rate78.7%
Yards per carry4.67

Role

Snap share74.35%
Target share21.68%
Air-yards share-0.23%
WOPR0.323
RACR0.596

Efficiency

Average depth of target1.2
Yards after catch per reception8.2
Yards before catch per reception0.5
Total YAC695
Broken tackles8
Drop rate0.1%
Passer rating when targeted106.8
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game1.21
Rushing EPA per game0.12

Scoring position

Red-zone targets15
Red-zone target share20.5%
End-zone target share16.7%
Red-zone carry share38.8%
Goal-line carry share37.8%
Expected receiving TDs3.24
Actual receiving TDs4
Receiving TD luck0.76
Expected rushing TDs8.47

Where that ranked

Against everyone in the 100+ carries pool that season:

Points per game2 of 42
Yards per target6 of 42
Target share1 of 42
Air-yards share24 of 42

Who else ate

The offense threw it 457 times. He took 10.07% of the targets. 1 team-mate cleared the competing-target threshold.

D.J. Moore27.63%
Terrace Marshall11.01%
Christian McCaffrey 10.07%
Shi Smith9.6%
Laviska Shenault Jr.7.49%
Tommy Tremble7.49%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 4 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Baker Mayfield64218.86.0722.25%
Sam Darnold631216.4218.6%
P.J. Walker42522.248.2824.6%
unknown11028.6825%

Blowouts against close games

7 of his 17 games were blowouts, 41.9% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 21.35 in those and 20.13 in close games — a meaningful share of his scoring came with the game already decided.

2021 · CAR · 7 games

His best game was Week 1 against NYJ — 27.7 PPR on 30 touches and a 27.3% target share, in a game that finished 19-14. His worst was Week 12 against MIA at 3.5, on 11 touches, final score 10-33. Across 7 games he cleared 20 points 4 times and came in under 8 points 2 times.

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 17.8 points per game. He scored 18.21, 2.3% above it. The engine classified the season as neutral.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1NYJ19-1427.799892198027.3%89%
2NO26-724.756652472116.7%71%
3HOU24-9622973106.1%30%
9NE6-2414.645541452017.2%49%
10ARI34-1026.11010661395031.3%59%
11WAS21-2724.978601059129.6%90%
12MIA10-333.5010103503.2%36%

Production

Receptions37
Targets41
Receiving yards343
Carries99
Rushing yards442
Touchdowns2
Points per game18.21
Yards per target8.37
Catch rate90.24%
Yards per carry4.46

Role

Snap share60.57%
Target share18.77%
Air-yards share8.46%
WOPR0.341
RACR4.371

Efficiency

Average depth of target2.2
Yards after catch per reception7
Yards before catch per reception2.3
Total YAC258
Broken tackles6
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted109.7
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game3.01
Rushing EPA per game0.25

Scoring position

Red-zone targets3
Red-zone target share5.5%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share26%
Goal-line carry share15%
Expected receiving TDs0.43
Actual receiving TDs0
Receiving TD luck-0.43
Expected rushing TDs2.63

Who else ate

The offense threw it 599 times. He took 7.13% of the targets. 2 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

D.J. Moore28.35%
Robbie Chosen19.13%
Ameer Abdullah8.52%
Christian McCaffrey 7.13%
Chuba Hubbard6.43%
Tommy Tremble6.09%

By quarterback

He caught passes from 3 quarterbacks that season, and the splits are not close.

QBGamesTargetsPPGY/TTgt%
Sam Darnold42218.259.8616.82%
Cam Newton2914.26.6716.4%
P.J. Walker11026.16.631.3%

Blowouts against close games

4 of his 7 games were blowouts, 54% of his snaps coming in them. He averaged 17.23 in those and 26.3 in close games — his scoring did not depend on garbage time.

2020 · CAR · 3 games

Earned against scored

His usage that season was worth 22.2 points per game. He scored 30.13, 35.9% above it. The engine classified the season as very_lucky.

WkOppScorePPRRecTgtYdsCarRushTDTgt%Snap%
1LV30-3428.534382397211.8%97%
2TB17-3124.845291859212.5%64%
9KC31-3337.11010821869222.7%71%

Production

Receptions17
Targets19
Receiving yards149
Carries59
Rushing yards225
Touchdowns6
Points per game30.13
Yards per target7.84
Catch rate89.47%
Yards per carry3.81

Role

Snap share77.33%
Target share15.67%
Air-yards share3.2%
WOPR0.26
RACR14.077

Efficiency

Average depth of target1.4
Yards after catch per reception7.2
Yards before catch per reception1.5
Total YAC123
Broken tackles3
Drop rate0%
Passer rating when targeted95
Rushing yards over expected0
Receiving EPA per game2.97
Rushing EPA per game1.31

Scoring position

Red-zone targets1
Red-zone target share1.7%
End-zone target share0%
Red-zone carry share14.3%
Goal-line carry share17.4%
Expected receiving TDs0.31
Actual receiving TDs1
Receiving TD luck0.69
Expected rushing TDs2.62

Who else ate

The offense threw it 549 times. He took 3.61% of the targets. 3 team-mates cleared the competing-target threshold.

Robbie Chosen25.86%
D.J. Moore22.43%
Curtis Samuel18.44%
Mike Davis13.31%
Ian Thomas5.89%
Christian McCaffrey 3.61%
Ask the Coach about Christian McCaffrey →
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