Start Jonathan Taylor or Christian McCaffrey? Week 5

Our Week 5 call

Start Jonathan Taylor over Christian McCaffrey in Week 5.

Market-based projections have Jonathan Taylor at 18.6 points and Christian McCaffrey at 18.3, a gap of 0.4. That is inside the noise of a single catch, so treat it as close to a coin flip.

What the market projects

Player markets imply 18.6 fantasy points for Jonathan Taylor, with 100 percent of the markets a RB needs posted.

The market has Jonathan Taylor at 85.5 rushing yards, 15.5 receiving yards and 2.5 receptions, with a 62% chance to score a touchdown (14, 9, 15 and 14 market sources).

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 (14, 14, 12 and 14 market sources).

That puts Jonathan Taylor 0.4 points ahead of Christian McCaffrey on the market projections.

Injury status

Jonathan Taylor is not on the injury report.

Christian McCaffrey is not on the injury report.

Usage before Week 5

Through Week 4, Jonathan Taylor played 84 percent of IND snaps, took 77 percent of the carries, drew 12 percent of the targets and had 47 percent of the red zone chances.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 1 against BAL: 48 of 54 snaps, 19 carries for 98 yards, 4 targets and 3 catches for 23 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 2 against KC: 61 of 65 snaps, 24 carries for 92 yards, 4 targets and 4 catches for 40 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 3 against HOU: 60 of 71 snaps, 23 carries for 68 yards, 3 targets and 2 catches for 4 yards.

Jonathan Taylor, Week 4 against WAS: 47 of 66 snaps, 20 carries for 95 yards, 4 targets and 1 catch for 2 yards, 2 touchdowns.

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.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025, Jonathan Taylor played 17 games for IND and scored 362.3 PPR points, 21.3 a game, finishing RB4.

He ran 323 times for 1585 yards and 18 touchdowns, and caught 46 of 55 targets for 378 yards.

He was on the field for 84 percent of the offense's snaps in the games he played.

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.

Their other Week 5 calls

• Start Aaron Jones Sr. over Jonathan Taylor.
• Start Jonathan Taylor over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Bijan Robinson over Jonathan Taylor.
• Start Christian McCaffrey over Aaron Jones Sr..
• Start Christian McCaffrey over Ashton Jeanty.
• Start Bijan Robinson over Christian McCaffrey.