Christian McCaffrey called 2025’s "riskiest fantasy pick" in return from injury

San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey is considered a boom-or-bust fantasy pick entering 2025.

McCaffrey, when healthy, is one of, if not the best, running backs in the NFL. However, he dealt with injuries last season, which hampered his year, and entering 2025, there are questions about whether or not he can stay healthy.

Ahead of the 2025 season, fantasy football analyst and expert Sal Vetri called McCaffrey the riskiest fantasy pick this season.

"Christian McCaffrey might be the riskiest pick in 2025 fantasy football. If he’s healthy — he wins you your league as a 2nd-round steal. If he’s not? You’re the idiot who fell for it again...," Vetri wrote.

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McCaffrey played four games last season as he was hampered by injuries. But in those four outings, he did rush for 202 yards but never got a touchdown, which tanked his fantasy stock.

The year prior, when he was healthy, McCaffrey rushed for 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns, showing how dominant he can be.

Christian McCaffrey says he's healthy ahead of 2025 NFL season

If the San Francisco 49ers are going to be better in 2025, Christian McCaffrey's health will be a big reason why.

McCaffrey is a focal point of the 49ers' offense, and ahead of training camp, the star running back says he's 100% healthy.

"I’m feeling great,” McCaffrey said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s been such a smooth process, a lot of hard work. As soon as that injury happened in Buffalo, it was my goal to not miss a day of OTAs and be back and ready to go with nothing hindering me, and that’s where I’m at.”

McCaffery was sidelined for the first eight games of the season after dealing with bilateral Achilles tendonitis. He ended up returning, but in Week 13, he suffered a knee injury, which ended his season.

Since the injury, McCaffrey has been focusing on rehab, and he says he's 100% healthy for the 2025 season.

“It went by pretty quickly,” McCaffrey said. “I don’t remember the exact date (I felt 100%), but I got to a point pretty early in the offseason when I was training full-speed, ready to go... It’s been great. Everything has been really smooth. I’m really pumped to be back here."

McCaffrey and the 49ers will open their 2025 season on Sept. 7 against the Seattle Seahawks.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

Know More

49ers Fans! Check out the latest San Francisco 49ers Schedule and dive into the 49ers Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Cole Shelton