Christian McCaffrey vs Justin Jefferson
2026 draft comparison · half-PPR
Updated Aug 20, 2026
All time: McCaffrey 64.7%Jefferson 35.3%
Should you draft Christian McCaffrey or Justin Jefferson?
Last season — 2025, per game
Full game log & past seasons
| WK | OPP | FPTS | RANK | ATT | YD | TD | TGT | REC | RYD | RTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | SEA | 18.7 | RB5 | 22 | 69 | 0 | 10 | 9 | 73 | 0 |
2 | NO | 19.7 | RB5 | 13 | 55 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 52 | 1 |
3 | ARI | 19.0 | RB8 | 17 | 52 | 0 | 15 | 10 | 88 | 0 |
4 | JAX | 23.1 | RB8 | 17 | 49 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 92 | 1 |
5 | LAR | 23.9 | RB6 | 22 | 57 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 82 | 1 |
6 | TB | 20.6 | RB9 | 17 | 54 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 57 | 0 |
7 | ATL | 35.6 | RB1 | 24 | 129 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 72 | 0 |
8 | HOU | 8.3 | RB28 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 43 | 0 |
9 | NYG | 31.8 | RB1 | 28 | 106 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 67 | 1 |
10 | LAR | 13.6 | RB16 | 12 | 30 | 0 | 10 | 8 | 66 | 0 |
11 | ARI | 32.6 | RB2 | 13 | 81 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 40 | 1 |
12 | CAR | 23.7 | RB3 | 24 | 89 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 53 | 0 |
13 | CLE | 15.4 | RB12 | 20 | 53 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 0 |
14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
15 | TEN | 15.2 | RB14 | 22 | 73 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0 |
16 | IND | 29.6 | RB3 | 21 | 117 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 2 |
17 | CHI | 26.1 | RB4 | 23 | 140 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 41 | 0 |
18 | SEA | 8.7 | RB23 | 8 | 23 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 34 | 0 |
Earlier seasons (2024)
| WK | OPP | FPTS | RANK | ATT | YD | TD | TGT | REC | RYD | RTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
8 | BYE | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
10 | TB | 13.7 | RB11 | 13 | 39 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 68 | 0 |
11 | SEA | 12.6 | RB16 | 19 | 79 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 27 | 0 |
12 | GB | 6.3 | RB31 | 11 | 31 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 0 |
13 | BUF | 7.7 | RB34 | 7 | 53 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| WK | OPP | FPTS | RANK | TGT | REC | YD | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CHI | 12.8 | WR20 | 7 | 4 | 44 | 1 |
2 | ATL | 9.6 | WR38 | 6 | 3 | 81 | 0 |
3 | CIN | 10.0 | WR33 | 7 | 5 | 75 | 0 |
4 | PIT | 17.6 | WR9 | 11 | 10 | 126 | 0 |
5 | CLE | 15.8 | WR11 | 11 | 7 | 123 | 0 |
6 | BYE | — | — | — | — | — | — |
7 | PHI | 10.4 | WR26 | 10 | 5 | 79 | 0 |
8 | LAC | 10.9 | WR26 | 11 | 7 | 74 | 0 |
9 | DET | 13.7 | WR18 | 9 | 6 | 47 | 1 |
10 | BAL | 5.7 | WR44 | 12 | 4 | 37 | 0 |
11 | CHI | 8.6 | WR27 | 9 | 5 | 61 | 0 |
12 | GB | 6.8 | WR39 | 6 | 4 | 48 | 0 |
13 | SEA | 1.4 | WR95 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
14 | WAS | 2.1 | WR81 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
15 | DAL | 3.2 | WR77 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 0 |
16 | NYG | 11.5 | WR26 | 8 | 6 | 85 | 0 |
17 | DET | 5.0 | WR52 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 0 |
18 | GB | 14.4 | WR10 | 11 | 8 | 101 | 0 |
Earlier seasons (2024)
| WK | OPP | FPTS | RANK | TGT | REC | YD | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | NYG | 13.9 | WR15 | 6 | 4 | 59 | 1 |
2 | SF | 21.3 | WR7 | 7 | 4 | 133 | 1 |
3 | HOU | 17.1 | WR14 | 8 | 6 | 81 | 1 |
4 | GB | 17.5 | WR11 | 8 | 6 | 85 | 1 |
5 | NYJ | 12.2 | WR23 | 14 | 6 | 92 | 0 |
6 | BYE | — | — | — | — | — | — |
7 | DET | 17.9 | WR5 | 8 | 7 | 81 | 1 |
8 | LAR | 15.5 | WR13 | 9 | 8 | 115 | 0 |
9 | IND | 18.1 | WR9 | 9 | 7 | 137 | 0 |
10 | JAX | 7.3 | WR33 | 9 | 5 | 48 | 0 |
11 | TEN | 11.1 | WR29 | 8 | 6 | 81 | 0 |
12 | CHI | 3.7 | WR64 | 5 | 2 | 27 | 0 |
13 | ARI | 13.4 | WR23 | 9 | 7 | 99 | 0 |
14 | ATL | 28.7 | WR4 | 7 | 7 | 132 | 2 |
15 | CHI | 16.8 | WR15 | 14 | 7 | 73 | 1 |
16 | SEA | 31.4 | WR1 | 13 | 10 | 144 | 2 |
17 | GB | 13.2 | WR29 | 11 | 8 | 92 | 0 |
18 | DET | 6.9 | WR55 | 9 | 3 | 54 | 0 |
Latest takes
“He has head coach Kyle Shanahan, Christian McCaffrey , and a loaded offensive ecosystem.”
Samwise· Aug 19“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.”
Kyle Zeigler· Aug 18“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.”
Kurt Mullen· Aug 14
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“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.”
Kyle Lesti· Aug 11“Fantasy Football Research & Advice Fantasy Football Expert Rankings 2026 Fantasy Football Draft Kit Fantasy Football Trade Analyzer Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: Pick 1.04 Players to Consider at 1.04 Fantasy Football Draft Pick These players will likely be available when you make your selection: Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN) Puka Nacua (WR – LAR) Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR – SEA) Christian McCaffrey (RB – SF) It’s fair to assume at least one of Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs will be gone, if not both, as they’re the consensus top two picks.”
Tom Strachan· Aug 11“Plenty of people have been hurt by fading Christian McCaffrey over the years, and it feels like a dangerous prospect when CMC was the RB1 in PPR points per game, scored 24.5 last year, 2.5 more than Bijan Robinson.”
Tom Strachan· Aug 9“McCaffrey fell to 1.95 YAC/A (41st among 51 running backs with at least 90 carries) and -0.54 RYOE/A (47th). Given his age and injury history I’d bet heavily against McCaffrey turning the tides on his declining rush efficiency. Fortunately, he showed absolutely no sign of decline as a receiving threat.”
Jakob Sanderson· Aug 8“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.”
Kurt Mullen· Aug 7“Now, there are outliers — guys like Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry continue to defy the odds and crush it.”
Wolf Trelles-Heard· Aug 7“He's scored 20 TDs twice including last season when he finished as the RB2 overall behind Christian McCaffrey”
FFToday· Aug 6“Mason was the RB9 in week’s 1-7 in 2024 while filling in for Christian McCaffrey and found himself as a popular zero RB target a year ago after a trade to the Vikings”
Chad Workman· Aug 6“2 running back in San Francisco behind Christian McCaffrey”
Mike Fanelli· Aug 6“6 | Diff: +22 Kaelon Black looks to have an early edge to climb into the clear RB2 spot on the 49ers’ depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey , with Jordan James now dealing with a rib fracture.”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 5“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.”
Jordan Pullett· Jul 29“Top-12 Drafted RBs in 2025 RB 2025 ADP 2024 Finish 2025 Games Played Bijan Robinson RB1 RB3 17 Saquon Barkley RB2 RB13 16 Jahmyr Gibbs RB3 RB4 17 Christian McCaffrey RB4 RB1 17 Derrick Henry RB5 RB7 17 Ashton Jeanty RB6 RB12 17 Josh Jacobs RB7 RB15 15 De’Von Achane RB8 RB6 16 Jonathan Taylor RB9 RB2 17 Bucky Irving RB10 RB33 10 Chase Brown RB11 RB8 17 Kyren Williams RB12 RB9 17 2025 RB Health Last season, nine out of 12 top RBs drafted finished as an RB1, resulting in a mostly chalky season at the top for RBs.”
Jordan Pullett· Jul 29
“Brown , Jaxon Smith‑Njigba , Justin Jefferson and CeeDee Lamb all provide stable weekly production because their offenses run directly through them.”
Lawrence Iacona· Aug 19“Jefferson has been a fantasy superstar since he entered the NFL. Unfortunately, the veteran is coming off a massively disappointing season, finishing last year as the WR21, averaging 11.9 PPR fantasy points per game despite finishing seventh in the league with 141 targets.”
Mike Fanelli· Aug 15“With a better quarterback, Justin Jefferson is a top-five pick, but with J.J. McCarthy ‘s past poor play and the uncertainty of Kyler Murray , we get a discount on one of the best wide receivers in the league.”
Kurt Blakeway· Aug 14
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“Last year, Jefferson was still sixth in target share (28.5%) and seventh in first-read share (35.1%), so we should all expect the Minnesota passing attack to run through their alpha wide receiver again in 2026.”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 14“Last year, Justin Jefferson had a horrible runout as the WR28 in fantasy points per game (WR14 in expected fantasy points per game). Obviously, a ton of his season was impacted by the level of quarterback play, but Jefferson also slid to 36th in separation score and 38th in route win rate (among 109 qualifying receivers, per Fantasy Points Data).”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 14“Justin Jefferson is the fifth-best wide receiver in the Madden universe, apparently”
The FF Newsletter· Aug 6“Tate isn’t entering the NFL with the pedigree of a Ja’Marr Chase or Justin Jefferson , for example, but his combination of age, draft capital, and college production is extremely appealing”
Ryan Kirksey· Aug 6“Having Justin Jefferson , Jordan Addison , and Jauan Jennings at your disposal is an embarrassment of riches”
Kyle Zeigler· Aug 6“Round 3: Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) Wow. Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Justin Jefferson ?”
Richard Janvrin· Aug 5“This wasn’t Jefferson’s fault, however. Among wide receivers with 50+ targets, Jefferson ranked 58th in catchable target rate (71%). J.J. McCarthy stunk, and all indications are that Kyler Murray is the clear favorite to be the starter in 2026, and possibly beyond.”
Tom Strachan· Jul 27“From WR2 in 2024 to WR21 in 2025, Justin Jefferson took quite the fall in production.”
Vernon Meighan· Jul 24“Jefferson should immediately become Murray’s go-to receiver, making an overall WR1 finish well within reach.”
Kyle Zeigler· Jul 23“Malik Nabers, CeeDee Lamb, and Justin Jefferson all have similar LTV scores in the same range as Love’s.”
Jonathan Lange· Jul 21“The Ballers agree that if Kyler takes the leading QB role, they are confident that Jefferson will be back as a top-tier WR. However, they see him more as a back-end WR1.”
Maggie Thraen· Jul 19“He opened with Justin Jefferson after a surprising run of young quarterbacks fell in the first round, then doubled up at quarterback anyway, taking Joe Burrow and Caleb Williams back to back once he realized how many were sliding.”
FantasyPros Staff· Jul 19