Road to RB1: Christian McCaffrey

In his first full year in San Francisco, Christian McCaffrey turned back the clock and avoided injury to end the year as the best running back in fantasy football. Now entering his age-28 season, McCaffrey has the inside track to retaining overall RB1 status but will have to maintain his elite production from 2023.

Since joining the 49ers early in the 2022 season, McCaffrey has managed to avoid the injuries that plagued him for most of his career with Carolina. Since being traded to San Francisco in 2022, McCaffrey has played in 27 of 28 possible regular season games behind the team's stout offensive line.

As unlikely as it seemed, McCaffrey put up a career year in 2023 with 1,459 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns with an additional 564 yards and seven touchdowns through the air. His 21 total scores were the driving force behind his fantasy value, tying with Raheem Mostert for first in the league.

Entering his second full season in San Francisco, McCaffrey will begin Week 1 with the exact same starting lineup that the team deployed a season ago, giving him a good chance to repeat as the fantasy RB1.

How Christian McCaffrey can become the fantasy RB1

Continuity, especially with the offensive line, is an underrated factor when determining a running back's success. For McCaffrey to return in 2024 with essentially the same offense around him as the year before with no major changes in coaching puts him in an ideal situation to defend his RB1 throne.

For McCaffrey, talent and situation have never been a concern. In the games he has played, he has routinely proven to be the best player in fantasy football over the last decade, though his two-year stretch in 2020 and 2021 in which he played just 10 games labeled him as injury-prone.

McCaffrey has given managers several scares in recent years but for the most part, has avoided significant damage since he moved west. However, now 28, wear-and-tear and age are now the primary worries for 'CMC' in his eighth year in the NFL.

Throughout league history, 28 has been proven to be the age of decline for running backs. Unlike many other positions, their fall-off has tended to happen quickly, with some even seeing their careers functionally end at 27.

While the end is seemingly near for McCaffrey, the efficiency of the San Francisco offense still gives him a path back to RB1 status. During the 2023 regular season, McCaffrey received 20 or more carries just four times, a rare mark for an RB1. The veteran was also consistently spelled by Elijah Mitchell and Trey Mason in short-yardage situations and obvious passing downs, lessening his usage as a blocker.

For the volume he loses in between-the-tackle carries, McCaffrey typically makes up for in the passing game. While his receiving yards were down in 2023 from 2022, he has never averaged less than eight yards per reception in his career.

As one of the smartest coaches in the NFL, Kyle Shanahan has managed the energy and impact of McCaffrey excellently thus far, a significant reason why the star running back has avoided serious harm in the latter portion of his career.

So long as San Francisco can continue to manage McCaffrey the right way and keep their star out of harm's way, there is a real possibility he repeats as RB1, even at 28 years old. The touchdowns will need to stay high, which is not a probable task, but his red zone usage has been off the charts in San Francisco, leading to 31 touchdowns in 27 games played with the team.