Start Christian McCaffrey or Jahmyr Gibbs? Week 1

Our Week 1 call

Start Jahmyr Gibbs over Christian McCaffrey in Week 1.

De-vigged player props project Jahmyr Gibbs at 8.4 points and Christian McCaffrey at 6.0, a gap of 2.5. Drafters take Jahmyr Gibbs at ADP 1 and Christian McCaffrey at 5. Market coverage on Jahmyr Gibbs is 40 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the books imply

Player prop markets imply 8.4 fantasy points for Jahmyr Gibbs, with 40 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

Player prop markets imply 6.0 fantasy points for Christian McCaffrey, with 40 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

That puts Jahmyr Gibbs 2.5 points ahead of Christian McCaffrey on the books.

Week 1 matchups

Jahmyr Gibbs and DET host NO on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.

NO allowed 36.4 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 5th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 163 yards and 2 touchdowns against NO and caught passes for 41 more yards.

Christian McCaffrey and SF visit LAR on Thursday at 8:35 PM ET.

LAR allowed 21.8 fantasy points to RBs in its one game this season, the 14th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 133 yards and no touchdowns against LAR and caught passes for 25 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Jahmyr Gibbs has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Jahmyr Gibbs was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Christian McCaffrey was not on the injury report when the call was made.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Jahmyr Gibbs played 17 games for DET and scored 366.9 PPR points, 21.6 a game, finishing RB3.

He ran 243 times for 1223 yards and 13 touchdowns, and caught 77 of 94 targets for 616 yards.

He was on the field for 67 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Jahmyr Gibbs, Week 18 of 2025 against CHI: 19 carries for 80 yards, 5 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards, 1 touchdown, 20.3 PPR points.

Jahmyr Gibbs, Week 17 of 2025 against MIN: 44 of 64 snaps, 17 carries for 41 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 23 yards, 6.4 PPR points.

Jahmyr Gibbs, Week 16 of 2025 against PIT: 64 of 74 snaps, 7 carries for 2 yards, 13 targets and 10 catches for 66 yards, 1 touchdown, 22.8 PPR points.

In 2025, Christian McCaffrey played 17 games for SF and scored 416.6 PPR points, 24.5 a game, finishing RB1.

He ran 311 times for 1202 yards and 10 touchdowns, and caught 102 of 129 targets for 924 yards.

He was on the field for 83 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 18 of 2025 against SEA: 36 of 42 snaps, 8 carries for 23 yards, 7 targets and 6 catches for 34 yards, 11.7 PPR points.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 17 of 2025 against CHI: 61 of 72 snaps, 23 carries for 140 yards, 6 targets and 4 catches for 41 yards, 1 touchdown, 28.1 PPR points.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 16 of 2025 against IND: 53 of 66 snaps, 21 carries for 117 yards, 8 targets and 6 catches for 29 yards, 2 touchdowns, 32.6 PPR points.

How Week 1 went

Jahmyr Gibbs scored 33.6 PPR points and Christian McCaffrey scored 13.8.

The call was right: Jahmyr Gibbs outscored Christian McCaffrey by 19.8.

Jahmyr Gibbs finished 25.2 points above the 8.4 the props implied.

Jahmyr Gibbs, Week 1 against NO: 57 of 77 snaps, 29 carries for 156 yards, 5 targets and 5 catches for 30 yards, 2 touchdowns, 33.6 PPR points.

Jahmyr Gibbs finished as the week's RB3 in PPR scoring.

Christian McCaffrey finished 7.9 points above the 6.0 the props implied.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 1 against LAR: 36 of 65 snaps, 10 carries for 68 yards, 8 targets and 5 catches for 20 yards, 13.8 PPR points.

Christian McCaffrey finished as the week's RB19 in PPR scoring.

Their other Week 1 calls

• Start Jahmyr Gibbs over Bijan Robinson.
• Start Jahmyr Gibbs over Jonathan Taylor.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over Bijan Robinson.
• Start De'Von Achane over Christian McCaffrey.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III.