Jonathan Taylor
vs Christian McCaffrey

“Round 2: Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND) With Daniel Jones coming off a torn Achilles, it’s fair to assume Jonathan Taylor will continue to get a massive amount of work in the running game and as a pass-catcher.”

“Meanwhile, Jonathan Taylor is the focal point of the offense, totaling 323 rushing attempts and 55 targets last season, setting a career high in targets.”

“$39M guaranteed The #Colts and star RB Jonathan Taylor have agreed to terms on a big-time 2-year, $44M extension, per me and @AdamSchefter”

“Taylor is heading into a contract year, likely his last massive one, after turning 27 this offseason. He’ll be motivated, have his quarterback returning, who might need to lean on the run game more, and once again has virtually no competition for touches. There’s a very real world where Taylor is a top-two back this season.”

“Yes, Jonathan Taylor is the bellcow for Indy, and I don’t see that changing, but the RB2 spot is up for grabs in Indy.”

“Colts running back Jonathan Taylor ranks second in the NFL with 626 rushing attempts since 2024, as well as a snap share over 80%. He also led the league with 323 carries and took a whopping 46% of his team's offensive touches last year. Taylor's workload has led to elite production: 3,016 yards and 29 touchdowns in the last two seasons, both top-three numbers at his position.”

“Jonathan Taylor was averaging 25.9 points per week, Alec Pierce was finally coming alive, ending his 1000-yard season with an average 21.3 yards per reception, and it looked like Tyler Warren was all he was cracked up to be.”

“Taylor was the catalyst for the Indianapolis offense last season, turning 369 touches into 1,963 yards from scrimmage and a league-high 20 touchdowns. Taylor led the NFL in rushing attempts (323), rushing scores (18), and first downs on the ground (84). He also handled a league-high 84.4% of Indy's backfield touches.”

“Jonathan Taylor's current workload is completely unsustainable. Taylor recorded a massive 327-carry workload last season, and we already know what happens when he crosses that 300-touch threshold. The last time he did it, his body broke down for the next two seasons.”

“Jonathan Taylor was absolutely dominant for the first half of last season. According to teams synced with our FantasyPros tools, the Colts back led all players in playoff advance rate at 66.8%. Simply drafting Taylor gave you a two-in-three chance of making the playoffs.”

“Jonathan Taylor led the NFL in snap share last season (89%) and ranked second in opportunity share (84%). Without an injury, he isn't coming off the field.”

“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.”

“McCaffrey is coming off a very poor season by his lofty standards, 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. 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 will turn 30 this June. Including the postseason, McCaffrey handled 450 touches. Since 2010, only three backs have touched the ball more in a season: DeMarco Murray in 2014 (497 touches), Saquon Barkley in 2024 (482), and Arian Foster in 2012 (460). All three of those players ahead of CMC on that list came back the following season and not only underperformed fantasy ADP, but also handled fewer touches.”

“When McCaffrey plays, he delivers fantasy points. The past five times that McCaffrey has appeared in double-digit games, he has been the RB1 or RB2 in overall scoring in both full-PPR and standard formats. McCaffrey carried the San Francisco offense through all of the injuries last season.”

“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.”