While death and taxes monopolize all the glory as the only certainties in life, fantasy soccer The director will say that there is certainly a third person. Christian McCaffrey is the most valuable player in fantasy, but he's not even close.
Every year more and more names are thrown into the debate about who should be the first overall pick in the draft, from Justin Jefferson to Ja'Marr Chase to even Travis Kelce, and each year, when the dust settles, it's… McCaffrey stands alone at the top of the statistical leaderboard.
Those who draft him usually find themselves wearing the crown, and those who don't find themselves trying too hard to win.
With the 49ers retaining their Week 18 starters, you can accept McCaffrey's 1,459 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns as a finale for the 2023 season. Same goes for his 67 catches for 564 yards and seven touchdown receptions. McCaffrey had 12 games this season with at least 100 all-purpose yards and five games with multiple touchdowns.
From a fantasy standpoint, McCaffrey's 391.3 points in a full-point PPR scoring format is tops in the NFL, but again, barring some ridiculous home league bonus.
Josh Allen is in second place by more than 20 points, and the next closest running back is Travis Etienne, who is more than 120 points behind McCaffrey.
This number is staggering by comparison, as he averaged 24.5 fantasy points per game and had weekly scores of over 20 points in 12 of 16 games. This is the very definition of a “league champion.”
It's always amazing to hear why people don't draft McCaffrey first overall. Those who continue to think he's “injury-prone” clearly aren't paying attention to the fact that he's played in 33 of 34 games over the past two years. Did he find himself in a tough spot in 2020 and 2021? Of course he did, but everyone gets injured at some point in their career. No one is immune.
And then there are the Zero RB fans who argue that running backs are overrated and that they should draft a high-end wide receiver. How did that turn out for those who drafted Jefferson? The players who drafted Chase were also indirectly burned by the injury bug. Stefon Diggs was very disappointing, but so was Kelce. Perhaps there is some upside to this strategy, but none of these players should be ahead of McCaffrey.
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The acronym MVP stands for Most Valuable Player. What happens to the chances of winning if you take him out of the lineup? McCaffrey's talent is extraordinary, and he plays a central role in one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL. When you're sitting in the draft room in 2024, remember what you've learned and make McCaffrey your top priority.
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