Start Christian McCaffrey or Jaylen Warren? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start Christian McCaffrey over Jaylen Warren in Week 5.

Market-based projections have Christian McCaffrey at 18.3 points and Jaylen Warren at 17.5, a gap of 0.8. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip. Jaylen Warren'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.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 18.3 fantasy points for Christian McCaffrey, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has Christian McCaffrey at 51.5 rushing yards, 35.5 receiving yards and 4.5 receptions, with a 56% chance to score a touchdown (15, 15, 12 and 14 market sources).

Player markets imply 17.5 fantasy points for Jaylen Warren, with 70 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has Jaylen Warren at 64.5 rushing yards, with a 56% chance to score a touchdown (7 and 14 market sources).

That puts Christian McCaffrey 0.8 points ahead of Jaylen Warren on the market projections.

Injury status

Christian McCaffrey is not on the injury report.

Jaylen Warren is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, Christian McCaffrey played 66 percent of SF snaps, took 45 percent of the carries, drew 20 percent of the targets and had 35 percent of the red zone chances.

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

Christian McCaffrey, Week 2 against MIA: 27 of 52 snaps, 10 carries for 23 yards, 4 targets and 4 catches for 43 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Christian McCaffrey, Week 3 against ARI: 45 of 54 snaps, 15 carries for 75 yards, 5 targets and 4 catches for 41 yards, 1 touchdown.

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.

Through Week 4, Jaylen Warren played 74 percent of PIT snaps, took 68 percent of the carries, drew 14 percent of the targets and had 29 percent of the red zone chances.

Jaylen Warren, Week 1 against ATL: 25 of 67 snaps, 10 carries for 46 yards, 6 targets and 5 catches for 27 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 2 against NE: 50 of 70 snaps, 11 carries for 43 yards, 4 targets and 2 catches for 34 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 3 against CIN: 56 of 62 snaps, 17 carries for 127 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 49 yards.

Jaylen Warren, Week 4 against CLE: 70 of 72 snaps, 17 carries for 93 yards, 6 targets and 3 catches for 33 yards.

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, Jaylen Warren played 16 games for PIT and scored 217.1 PPR points, 13.6 a game, finishing RB17.

He ran 211 times for 958 yards and 6 touchdowns, and caught 40 of 45 targets for 333 yards.

He was on the field for 51 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start Christian McCaffrey over Aaron Jones Sr..
• Start Christian McCaffrey over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Bijan Robinson over Christian McCaffrey.
• Start Jaylen Warren over Aaron Jones Sr..
• Start Jaylen Warren over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Jaylen Warren over Derrick Henry.