Christian McCaffrey's Fantasy Workload Should Remain Strong

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Christian McCaffrey was a stud at Stanford, dominating on the ground, through the air, and even on special teams before getting drafted eighth overall to the Carolina Panthers in 2017.

One of the only knocks on him was his size, as he stood 5'11" and 202 pounds entering the NFL. This limited him throughout his rookie season, as he didn't reach 200 touches and mustered just 3.7 yards per carry. Then he beefed up for 2018 and took the NFL by storm, racking up 326 touches and nearly 2,000 scrimmage yards. He finished second in fantasy points per game among running backs.

His 2019 workload could be at risk, as some speculate the Panthers will draft a back to take some pressure off of the NFL star. McCaffrey doesn't think it's necessary.

Like most NFL superstars, McCaffrey wants the ball as much as possible. If the Panthers listen to his pleas, he would be locked in for another 300 touches in 2019. Only five running backs hit that number in 2018, and four of them finished in the top-10 of fantasy scoring.

Even if the Panthers did land a complementary back in the draft, McCaffrey would still be a dominant fantasy running back. His 107 receptions last season led all running backs and he has received 100+ targets in back-to-back seasons.

McCaffrey averaged 24.1 touches per game in 2018. Because of his passing work, his touches-per-game would still be in the ball park of 20 even if he ceded some carries to a teammate.

With his receiving totals likely staying put, McCaffrey will be a fantasy force for 2019 and beyond.

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Taylor Smith is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Taylor also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username jtsmittyyy. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.