The Players You Need to Panic About After Week 1

In week one of the NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers played a game in Australia, and Christian McCaffrey—a top-three pick in most fantasy drafts—saw just 10 carries while third-round rookie Kaelen Black got 14. McCaffrey still managed 15 fantasy points on a 24% target share and efficient running, but the snap split was nearly even: 55% to McCaffrey, 44% to Black. The summary below walks through which stars to panic about, which to hold, and why the psychology of week-one overreaction can cost you a season.

Why McCaffrey's Split Backfield Isn't a Crisis

The 49ers' usage of McCaffrey in week one looks alarming on paper, but the context matters. The game was a blowout by the third quarter, McCaffrey dealt with cramping, and the team had just traveled 24 hours for a game in Australia with no preseason work. His per-play efficiency was excellent—a 10% explosive run rate, compared to roughly half that in 2024—and he saw 67% of the snaps inside the 10-yard line. The host argues that "if there's somebody in your fantasy league that's currently worried about their first round pick Christian McCaffrey because of this performance... go to the trade offer as soon as possible." The key mechanism here is that week-one usage in a weird, lopsided game is not predictive of season-long role. McCaffrey is 30 and coming off a 400-touch season, so a slight workload reduction is expected, but