Ja'Marr Chase vs Christian McCaffrey

“In five years in the league, Chase has averaged 1,490 yards a season.”

“Bryan Cook mentioned that lining up against WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is beneficial to him this offseason. "We've got two No. 1 receivers here. More learning from those guys," Cook said. "Seeing how they view certain things. How to get better at disguising some things."”

“The same goes for elite wideouts like Ja'Marr Chase and Puka Nacua. But they are knocked down a peg or two by the top-tier quarterbacks.”

“Using this year's board, let's say you take Ja'Marr Chase at 1.01. You pick at 24 and 25.”

“Much of Chase's ceiling is tied to Joe Burrow's health. In games with Burrow at quarterback since Chase was drafted, he averages 0.78 touchdowns and 20.67 PPR points. In the games without Burrow, those numbers drop to 0.33 touchdowns and 15.48 points.”

“For two consecutive seasons, Chase has led the league in targets with 175 and 185, respectively. Chase also has two years with 1,400+ receiving yards, and his consistency is worth paying for.”

“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.”

“Ja'Marr Chase come to mind as an NFL player who has the same WR1 year-over-year and isn't going anywhere, set to produce for fantasy teams once again in 2026.”

“As long as the Joe Burrow – Ja'Marr Chase connection is intact, Chase has to be considered the top pick in PPR formats.”

“Burton arrived in Cincinnati with the hopes of becoming a reliable complement to star wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.”

“Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins give the Bengals a chance in every game, but how good can the defense be?”

“Joint new pacts could be worked out, as was the case last spring with wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.”

“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.”

“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, which ranked 48th among running backs with 50+ rush attempts, while also ranking 47th in yards after contact per attempt.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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. This ranked 48th among running backs with 50+ rush attempts, while also ranking 47th in yards after contact per attempt and 29th in missed tackles forced.”

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

“McCaffrey is coming off one of his worst rushing performances of his career, averaging 3.9 yards per carry, his lowest mark since 2020 in Carolina. This ranked 48th among running backs with 50+ rush attempts. He also ranked 47th in yards after contact per attempt and 29th in missed tackles forced.”

“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 says he's had heavy workload seasons where he felt rough after and some he felt great after, making it all about how he prepares mixed with some luck. "Sometimes you can get through a season with 400-plus touches and feel great, and sometimes you might only put in three games and you feel terrible. I've experienced both."”

“Coming off a year where McCaffrey had five games with at least 30 touches, HC Kyle Shanahan has talked about reducing the star's workload as he ages. McCaffrey said he obviously doesn't want the ball less, but he's still preparing his body to be ready to handle 35 touches a game.”

“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 trouble is that McCaffrey PPR scammed his way to first place with his worst rushing production in a while. His 3.9 yards per carry was his lowest mark since 2020 in Carolina. This ranked 48th among running backs with 50+ rush attempts, while also ranking 47th in yards after contact per attempt and 29th in missed tackles forced.”