One of fantasy’s undisputed top 3 picks heading into 2019, Christian McCaffrey has handsomely rewarded owners who chose him over Saquon Barkley and Alvin Kamara. Through 5 weeks, McCaffrey leads the entire NFL in fantasy scoring, with the next closest player, Austin Ekeler, over 30 points behind him. Among all NFL RBs he’s 1st in carries, 1st in rushing yards, T-2nd in rushing TDs, and 2nd (behind Ekeler) in targets, receptions, and receiving yards. With Cam Newton struggling to stay healthy and Carolina’s receivers not living up to some of their own individual hype, McCaffrey is thriving as the Panther’s entire offense and should continue to for the foreseeable future.
McCaffrey is not only dominating in terms of 2019 production, but is producing at a truly historic pace. Here are the all-time leaders in PPR points scored through 5 weeks in NFL history (courtesy of Scott Barrett):
1. Priest Holmes, RB, 2002 (169.3)
2. Jim Brown, RB, 1963 (167.8)
3. CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY, RB, 2019 (159.6)
4. Marshall Faulk, RB, 2000 (156.7)
5. Peyton Manning, QB, 2013 (155.9)
CMC’s 2019 season already has him among the greats, and it’s even more impressive considering the competition he’s done it against. His last 4 opponents have all been in the top half of the league in terms of halting opposing RB’s fantasy production, which is a good sign considering 5 of his next 6 opponents fit that bill as well. He’s virtually opponent-proof when you consider his talent and his role in the offense — out of 143 total touches for Carolina RBs this season, he’s registered 136 of them, and he has 109 (!!!) more touches than any other member of the Panthers’ offense.
McCaffrey’s immediate schedule brings 2 top-3 defenses in terms of slowing down opposing RBs with a bye week in between. While that doesn’t sound amazing — and next week’s opponent, Tampa Bay, is the only team that’s slowed McCaffrey down at all this year — it really doesn’t matter. CMC is a matchup-proof RB1 that will continue to put up massive numbers at a historic pace, regardless of opponent, weather, surrounding talent, playing venue, or any other issue you could possibly come up with.
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