Josh Allen vs Christian McCaffrey

“While there are five quarterbacks in this tier, Allen stands clearly ahead of the rest. The superstar has finished as a top-five quarterback in six consecutive seasons despite not having a go-to No. 1 wide receiver since the Bills traded away Stefon Diggs.”

“Bills QB Josh Allen is an amazing football player and a time-tested fantasy asset.”

“Josh Allen is microwave popcorn because when he gets hot, he absolutely pops off. One explosive play turns into another, the TDs start piling up, and suddenly you are staring at a fantasy score that felt impossible just a few quarters ago.”

“There’s no doubt that quarterbacks like Allen, Jackson, Drake Maye, and more should score more, but drafting any in the first few rounds is a bad idea.”

“Most notably, he oversaw the development of Josh Allen as Offensive Coordinator in Buffalo from 2018 through 2021.”

“The Sharp Football Analysis projections are aggressive in factoring in increased passing from Allen and are well above the Vegas passing yards total. ESPN’s publicly available projections have a moderate increase in passing attempts and yardage from last year and are still more than 300 yards over the passing total.”

“Since the start of 2022, Allen is second in EPA per play and has finished among the top four quarterbacks in EPA per play in every single year.”

“Josh Allen , Patrick Mahomes , Brock Purdy , Dak Prescott , and Jared Goff were the only quarterbacks selected as top-12 players who were also top 12 in points per game.”

“Josh Allen 2026 Over/Under Predictions The Buffalo offense played at the league's slowest pace and ran the ball at the second-highest rate last season, which seems very counterintuitive for a team with Josh Allen at quarterback.”

“Josh Allen is once again the consensus QB1 in fantasy. He finished QB1 in fantasy scoring last season for the fourth time in the last six years. After down years from Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts , the gap between Allen and other fantasy QBs seems to have widened.”

“There is hope that a healthy Kincaid can live up to the hype that he has carried since entering the league as a first-round pick in the NFL Draft and be an elite TE option in an offense with Josh Allen .”

“With the first pick in the draft, Mike takes what feels like an obvious choice of Josh Allen, who has finished as the QB1 overall in four of the last six seasons.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Now, there are outliers — guys like Christian McCaffrey and Derrick Henry continue to defy the odds and crush it.”

“He's scored 20 TDs twice including last season when he finished as the RB2 overall behind Christian McCaffrey”

“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”

“2 running back in San Francisco behind Christian McCaffrey”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”