Fantasy Football News: McCaffrey Injury Update
With Christian McCaffrey sidelined with a calf injury, how should fantasy managers react? Is McCaffrey still the No. 1 pick in fantasy drafts? Alas, there is seemingly little to worry about with the season more than a month away.
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Consensus No. 1 fantasy pick Christian McCaffrey will miss a couple weeks after straining his right calf in training camp late last week, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday.
Shanahan said McCaffrey did not pull the muscle and the injury is not considered serious. The San Francisco running back won't play in preseason games, but he wasn't likely to play anyway. He didn't play last preseason either.
McCaffrey strained the same calf late last season, sitting out Week 18 before returning in the divisional playoffs against the Packers with 128 yards and two touchdowns on 24 touches.
With season opener more than four weeks away, McCaffrey has plenty of time to get healthy, which means there's little reason to drop him from the top spot in fantasy drafts. His injury history — he was limited to 10 games in 2020-21 — might scare some, but as McCaffrey's season outlook noted, his track record of availability (79 percent of possible games) is about normal for a heavily used running back, and his elite combination of volume, efficiency and scheme makes it easy to ride out the setback. Until there's a real danger of him missing time, it's probably best not to overthink it.
What's more, the 49ers don't have a running back to potentially chip away touches from McCaffrey, as Elijah Mitchell and Isaac Guerendo are both dealing with hamstring injuries
