Christian McCaffrey vs Brock Bowers

“The reason I lean toward Taylor over McCaffrey is his age and workload in 2025. The 49ers back just turned 30 and is coming off a career high in carries and touches. While he will be the focal point of the 49ers' offense once again, I worry about his health.”

“The 49ers' reliance on a core group of veterans like Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Nick Bosa, and the recently acquired Mike Evans is cause for concern, given the injury history of this franchise over the past few seasons.”

“It's true that Christian McCaffrey is coming off quite a poor year by his standards in the ground game, rushing for 3.9 yards per carry, his lowest mark since 2020 in Carolina. But for fantasy purposes, that simply didn't matter, as McCaffrey saw 129 targets, more than A.J. Brown, Courtland Sutton, Keenan Allen or Zay Flowers had. McCaffrey was the RB1 in points per game, scoring 2.5 points more than the RB2.”

“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.”

“McCaffrey recently turned 30, and while he can maintain his value in the receiving game, the cliff edge can come fast for running backs.”

“Last season, Christian McCaffrey finished as the RB1, averaging 24.5 PPR fantasy points per game, totaling 45.8 more fantasy points than any other running back. However, McCaffrey had 413 regular-season touches last year, a career-high. Unfortunately, the last time he had over 375 touches in a season, McCaffrey missed 13 games the following year.”

“McCaffrey turns 30 on June 7th, and while 129 targets last year isn't to be sniffed at, this bet does feel slightly thin at times. McCaffrey is a stronger pick slightly later than this.”

“The idea behind "Stars & Scrubs" is to build your team primarily around a few star players. For example, you may be able to walk away with Ja'Marr Chase, Jahmyr Gibbs and someone like Christian McCaffrey, but this will leave you with a significantly lower budget for the remaining picks.”

“Christian McCaffrey scored 1 RecTD, 2 RuTD, 20 RecYds, 146 RuYds, 3 REC, and earned 1 100+Rush bonus for 40.6 fantasy points in Week 9.”

“Gainwell ranked fourth among all backs in receptions in 2025, trailing only the dual-threat elites of Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs.”

“While McCaffrey still offers elite receiving ability, the hosts compared his current stage of career to later-career Alvin Kamara, still productive in the passing game, but less explosive as a pure runner.”

“The FantasyPros crew largely agreed that Christian McCaffrey no longer belongs in the absolute top fantasy tier. The discussion centered around workload concerns, declining rushing efficiency, age, and injury history.”

“Bowers came into the NFL as one of the most highly regarded TE prospects of all time and had 112 catches for 1,194 yards and five touchdowns on 153 targets as a rookie while playing with QBs Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell and Desmond Ridder. Injuries kept Bowers from big things in 2025, but he should have a monster 2026 season as the top target earner in what should be an improved Raiders offense.”

“Brock Bowers lead the way as the top candidates to finish above 200 fantasy points (half-PPR). With the league shifting towards TE-heavy offensive sets, we could see snaps across the position skyrocket.”

“Managers consistently overpay for superstars early (the curse of Brock Bowers in 2025). A star player like Bowers is going to cost a lot early in the season, especially if you are playing with inexperienced or uninformed chopped players.”

“The passing game will also get a lift from a healthier Brock Bowers. The team's top pass-catching weapon suffered a PCL injury and a bone bruise in his knee in Week 1 and played through the injury for three weeks before shutting it down until Week 9.”

“Bowers, meanwhile, is onto his third quarterback in three years and will be hoping that Fernando Mendoza adjusts quickly to the NFL.”

“I've had the best results getting my starting RBs from this stage, a solid, back-end top 12 WR, and Brock Bowers if he's going for somewhere near the mid $30s.”

“Bowers was plagued by injuries last season. He played through a couple of lingering injuries at the start of the season, and ultimately ended his season after 12 games.”

“Everyone is expecting the Raiders' rookie QB to pepper Bowers as he gets his feet wet. Expect to pay a premium for the top-ranked TE, this year.”

“Bowers is worth a look in the back half of the second round or early in the third round of 12-team fantasy drafts.”

“Pat Fitzmaurice compared Bowers' potential fantasy edge to the advantage Travis Kelce provided during his peak seasons. Even as a rookie, Bowers posted elite receiving numbers and finished among the league leaders in targets, receptions, and receiving yards across all pass catchers.”

“Brock Bowers, Raiders (24) was the highest rated Tight End in the NFL Top 100 for 2025.”

“I am taking the post-injury discount on Brock Bowers after he missed five games in 2025. Despite missing those games, he actually scored more touchdowns (seven) than he did in his phenomenal rookie season.”