Christian McCaffrey Fantasy Outlook Remains Strong With Eyes on Making History in Week 17

There’s no reason to expect a let-down game from Christian McCaffery in Week 17. Despite the Carolina Panthers having nothing to play for, interim head coach Perry Fewell doesn’t plan on limiting the Pro Bowl running back in the team's final game of the season.

Fewell says he has no plans to pull Christian McCaffrey out early. (He only played one series in Week 17 last year vs. Saints.)
— Joe Person (@josephperson) December 26, 2019

McCaffery is fantasy's RB1 in PPR formats this season, and it hasn't been particularly close. His 448.4 PPR points are 149.9 more than the second-place RB, Aaron Jones, who has 298.5. In fact, McCaffrey's averaging 29.9 PPR points per game, which is 10.0 more than Jones is averaging on a per-game basis.

For context, Adrian Peterson (RB38) is averaging 10.0 PPR points per game, so starting McCaffrey every week has essentially been like inserting an extra FLEX option into your lineup each week.

McCaffrey also hasn't seen fewer than 10 targets since Week 13, and considering how close the third-year back is to making history, it's fair to expect him to produce at a similar level in Week 17.

Panthers offensive coordinator Scott Turner says he will try to get the ball to Christian McCaffrey in any way he can on Sunday. McCaffrey needs 67 yards receiving against the Saints to become the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 yards rushing... https://t.co/eCuM26DrWw
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) December 26, 2019

His 152.9 yards from scrimmage per game is the highest mark in the league by 34.8 yards per game, as Dalvin Cook is currently second with an average of 118.1.

He’s got a tough matchup against a New Orleans Saints team allowing the sixth-fewest PPR points per game to opposing running backs, but I don’t think you need me to tell you that McCaffery is matchup-proof.

The team has made it clear they want the Stanford product to make history this weekend, so feel free to fire him up as you normally would. McCaffrey is once again the RB1 in our Week 17 PPR rankings.

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