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Start Christian McCaffrey or James Cook III? Week 9

Updated Nov 4, 4:36 PM ET.

Latest

  • : James Cook III: Listed Questionable (Undisclosed) (Sleeper injury feed)

Start Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III

Start

Christian McCaffrey

RB · SF · vs LV · Questionable

Market projects
20.7
fantasy pts
LV D vs RB
25.3
6th most to RBs (2026)
Upside
Rising
77 of 100 at RB
Snap share
69%
Through Week 7
Target share
20%
Through Week 7
Sit

James Cook III

RB · BUF · at MIN

Market projects
16.4
fantasy pts
MIN D vs RB
18.4
5th fewest to RBs (2026)
Upside
Rising
68 of 100 at RB
Snap share
54%
Through Week 8
Target share
9%
Through Week 8

Should I drop James Cook III for Christian McCaffrey?

Yes, on the rest of the season. Christian McCaffrey projects 176 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.5 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 147 (16.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 9 the call starts Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III, 20.7 to 16.4 projected PPR points. Christian McCaffrey is listed questionable.

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Our Week 9 call

Start Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III in Week 9.

Market-based projections have Christian McCaffrey at 20.7 points and James Cook III at 16.4, a gap of 4.3. Christian McCaffrey's number is scaled up from a partial market: not every stat the position needs is posted yet, so the rest is estimated from what is. Drafters take Christian McCaffrey at ADP 6 and James Cook III at 9. Market coverage on Christian McCaffrey is 70 percent of what his position needs, so the market side of this carries proportionally less weight.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 20.7 fantasy points for Christian McCaffrey, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for Christian McCaffrey is 61 rushing yards and 1.2 touchdowns (11 and 9 market sources).

Player markets imply 16.4 fantasy points for James Cook III, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market-based projection for James Cook III is 80 rushing yards, 14 receiving yards, 2-3 receptions and 0.7 touchdowns (12, 12, 12 and 12 market sources).

That puts Christian McCaffrey 4.3 points ahead of James Cook III on the market projections.

Week 9 matchups

Christian McCaffrey and SF host LV on Sunday at 4:25 PM ET.

LV allowed 25.3 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 8 games, the 6th most in the league.

Running backs ran for 130 yards and a touchdown a game against LV and caught passes for 34 more yards.

James Cook III and BUF visit MIN on Monday at 8:15 PM ET.

MIN allowed 18.4 fantasy points a game to RBs this season over 7 games, the 5th fewest in the league.

Running backs ran for 103 yards and 0.6 touchdowns a game against MIN and caught passes for 18 more yards.

By points allowed to the position, Christian McCaffrey has the softer matchup.

Injury status

Christian McCaffrey is listed as questionable with a calf injury.

James Cook III is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 9

Through Week 7, Christian McCaffrey played 69 percent of SF snaps, took 46 percent of the carries, drew 20 percent of the targets and had 36 percent of the red zone chances.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 4 against DEN: 49 of 66 snaps, 15 carries for 52 yards, 5 targets and 3 catches for 18 yards, 1 touchdown.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 5 against SEA: 49 of 60 snaps, 11 carries for 68 yards, 3 targets and 3 catches for 15 yards, 1 touchdown.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 6 against WAS: 53 of 62 snaps, 16 carries for 64 yards, 10 targets and 9 catches for 53 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 7 against ATL: 34 of 66 snaps, 7 carries for 39 yards, 7 targets and 6 catches for 61 yards, 1 touchdown.

Through Week 8, James Cook III played 54 percent of BUF snaps, took 54 percent of the carries, drew 9 percent of the targets and had 35 percent of the red zone chances.

James Cook III, Week 8 against BAL: 44 of 82 snaps, 21 carries for 80 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 21 yards, 1 touchdown.

Their 2025 seasons

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.

In 2025, James Cook III played 17 games for BUF and scored 302.2 PPR points, 17.8 a game, finishing RB6.

He ran 309 times for 1621 yards and 12 touchdowns, and caught 33 of 40 targets for 291 yards.

He was on the field for 60 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

James Cook III, Week 18 of 2025 against NYJ: 2 carries for 15 yards, 0 targets and 0 catches for 0 yards, 1.5 PPR points.

James Cook III, Week 17 of 2025 against PHI: 39 of 76 snaps, 20 carries for 74 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 3 yards, 8.7 PPR points.

Their other Week 9 calls

Locks at kickoff, graded after. When the start/sit engine grades week 9, the call and the result appear on the public record, wrong ones included.

Drop or keep

  • Should I drop James Cook III for Christian McCaffrey?

    Yes, on the rest of the season. Christian McCaffrey projects 176 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.5 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 147 (16.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 9 the call starts Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III, 20.7 to 16.4 projected PPR points. Christian McCaffrey is listed questionable.

  • Should I drop Christian McCaffrey for James Cook III?

    No. Keep Christian McCaffrey: he projects 176 market-implied PPR points from Week 9 through Week 17 (19.5 a game over 9 games), James Cook III 147 (16.3 a game over 9 games). For Week 9 the call starts Christian McCaffrey over James Cook III, 20.7 to 16.4 projected PPR points. Christian McCaffrey is listed questionable.

Should I drop Christian McCaffrey?Should I drop James Cook III?

Week 9 on the board

Elsewhere on the board