Christian McCaffrey
vs Amon-Ra St. Brown

“If we could turn injuries off like in the Madden video game, McCaffrey would be the clear-cut 1.01 pick in every non-superflex draft.”

“Andrew Erickson’s Draft Landmines of 2026 Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF) Christian McCaffrey led the NFL with 413 touches in 2025 and reached 450 when including the playoffs.”

“Going as the RB3, roughly the eighth overall pick, McCaffrey is coming off a season that led all players in total touches. Historically, that’s a dangerous signal: over the last 13 years, only one running back who saw 400-plus touches in a season finished as a top-five back the next year, and running backs age 27 or older who led the league in touches have never finished top five the following season across six such occurrences.”

“He’s entering his age-30 season with a lot of miles on the tread. McCaffrey is absolutely capable of smashing, but he could also miss some games. Since 2020, he’s missed half the season or more three times.”

“In a full PPR format, CMC represents one of the few RBs in the league who really benefits from the extra bump per reception. McCaffrey had a whopping 102 receptions last season and could very well be one of the main receiving weapons in San Francisco again in 2026.”

“Christian McCaffrey | RB, San Francisco 49ers Heading into what will be his 10th season in the NFL, Christian McCaffrey is coming off another season of monstrous volume.”

“McCaffrey is coming off a season where he touched the ball 400+ times and finished all but one week of the season as a top-24 RB. The biggest “if” with CMC is his health, but when he is on the field, he is a fantasy league winner.”

“2 Something to note is that while Christian McCaffrey did not reach the total rushing attempts needed to hit this criterion last season, he did have 311 carries, along with 102 receptions, putting his total workload at a similar number.”

“The last time McCaffrey had over 400 touches in a year, the superstar missed 69.7% of the games over the next two seasons because of injury.”

“McCaffrey was the RB1 in points per game, scoring 2.5 points more than the RB2. Once again, the 49ers did very little to persuade us that they don’t believe in McCaffrey’s ability to be a workhorse, instead continuing their habit of talking up a later-round dart throw at the position, who’ll likely struggle to see any involvement.”

“Brown got off to a quiet start Sunday afternoon, but eventually was thrust into the spotlight, with Detroit trying to fend off New Orleans from pulling a massive upset. The “Sun God” led all Lions receivers with 14 targets, securing 10 receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Even though he operates so close to the LOS, ARSB is a volume-based PPR monster who has one of the highest point floors of any receiver each week.”

“WR1 Amon-Ra St. Brown remains one of the league’s premier receivers, while Detroit’s offensive structure continues to create opportunities through the passing game.”

“I would argue that the safest player to draft is St. Brown. While he isn’t the WR1 in my redraft rankings, St. Brown is the top guy in my guillotine rankings.”

“St. Brown is arguably in the most stable offensive environment in the NFL. He plays 12 games indoors, and Detroit rarely takes the foot off the gas offensively.”

“St. Brown caught 117 receptions for 1,401 yards, and 11 TD’s. The wide receiver for the Lions has played at least 16 games or more in five seasons. Not only are we getting a player that can average 20 or more each week, the reliability is there as well.”

“The Detroit Lions are an interesting case, because everyone is pretty much where they should be: Jahmyr Gibbs is a top-two pick, Amon-Ra St. Brown is a fringe first-rounder, Jameson Williams is a WR2, and Sam LaPorta is a backend TE1 (and Jared Goff goes too late).”

“Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was voted as the fifth-best receiver in the NFL in a poll by execs and coaches around the league: “Savvy, knack for getting open, plays faster than his timed speed,” an NFL coordinator said.”

“Amon-Ra St. Brown is consistently viewed as a tier above Puka Nacua, Ja'Marr Chase and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In half-PPR formats, St. Brown has finished as the WR3 for three consecutive seasons.”

“St. Brown has been a paragon of consistency.”

“Perhaps the ceiling gets capped slightly if Jameson Williams trends upwards and Sam LaPorta is healthier, but the Lions were bad last season, and the most important thing is that they might have a competent play-caller once again in Drew Petzing. The team has said they want to lean into what Jared Goff does best by using play-action passes heavily. That would be a bonus for St. Brown, who has consistently led the team in first-read target share on such plays.”

“Amon-Ra St. Brown falling to the turn on Sleeper is one of the biggest values in early drafts. While many drafters chase youth and upside, they are overlooking one of the safest elite assets in fantasy football. St. Brown has delivered elite volume and consistency for three straight seasons, thriving on heavy target share, red-zone usage and his chemistry with Jared Goff.”

“St. Brown is the unquestioned alpha in the passing game, averaging 159 targets during that span. Detroit's offense has been one of the league's best over the last three seasons, and there isn't really a reason to think that will slow down.”