Christian McCaffrey got off the injury schneid like few players in recent memory. Limited to 10 games during what was supposed to be his peak in 2020-21, CMC roared back in a fashion all injured players dream but few achieve.
We suppose he paid the price this season. Double achilles tendinitis segueing into a PCL injury is what 2020-21 fantasy managers would have expected. That it feels like such a bitter disappointment in 2024 is a relief after McCaffrey’s body nearly robbed him of his career.
But now it is back to the drawing board, not only for McCaffrey, but the 49ers at large. His injury, of course, is just one cog of what has been a nightmare campaign in Santa Clara.
The future is chock full of questions with comparatively few answers. How will Brandon Aiyuk (knee) rebound? Is Trent Williams (ankle, age) finally on the way out? Is Nick Bosa joining his brother as a permanent infirmary member? Will Deebo Samuel even be back? Has Brock Purdy earned a record-setting payday?
This 49ers era is ending. McCaffrey will still be a part of the next one due his contract/salary cap realities. But as the top-five RB1 he’s always been? CMC is going on 29 with knee woes now joining his achilles and hamstring histories. That’s not the best bet to place in fantasy, especially since his overall environment is in decline. As was the case before his 49ers rebound, McCaffrey’s ADP will be one of the summer’s great talking points.
As for now, Jordan Mason ran well ahead of Isaac Guerendo against the Bills even though the rookie had seemed to chip away at Mason’s advantage before McCaffrey’s return. The most likely outcome is clear Mason lead status, though not the exclusive rights he enjoyed in September and October. Mason projects on the RB1/2 borderline, with Guerendo worth speculative FLEX adds.
Three Week 13 Storylines
Spiraling 49ers look as if they have never seen weather before. CMC’s departure was merely the injury to insult. The 49ers embarrassed themselves in Buffalo, straight up not competing even though in theory they are just as equipped as the Bills to win a “snow game.” You can’t even point to McCaffrey’s absence as the reason for the avalanche, as backup Jordan Mason was one of the only players to acquit himself well. But beyond Mason we got: Zero big plays from George Kittle, point shaving from Deebo Samuel, and mass confusion from Brock Purdy. Coach Kyle Shanahan was a deer in headlights, though it’s difficult to pinpoint what he could have done differently, at least in the moment. Beyond injuries, the “problems” go a lot further back than just one snow debacle. Shanny is the ultimate frontrunner, which isn’t the worst thing in the world since he’s usually ahead. But Sunday laid bare the long-standing issues: The second the plan goes awry, well, there is no plan. With CMC hurt and Week 14 opponent Chicago good at suppressing the pass, next Sunday might not end up the insta-turnaround it appears to be on paper.
Taysom Hill party ends with serious knee injury. The biggest problem with the Saints’ Taysom obsession has always been that he gets hurt just as soon as he gets going, but there’s nothing you can do about taking a helmet straight to the knee. This was not an “old guy running too much” injury. This was awful luck, just the latest for this snakebitten team. It leaves an army of backups and also-rans to play out the stretch for an interim-coached squad. There is no real “fantasy fallout” unless you want to bet that Hill’s loss frees up more looks for Juwan Johnson. The reality is, though both supposedly “tight ends,” Hill and Johnson don’t play the same position. Hill’s touches weren’t the reason Johnson wasn’t producing. Don’t expect things to really change there. Going on 35 with his first real long-term injury to accompany his litany of more minor ailments, Hill will sadly never be the same, in fantasy or otherwise.
Already-injured Trevor Lawrence suffers sickening concussion vs. Texans. Lawrence wasn’t the biggest name to get hurt on Sunday, but he was the highest-paid. Many didn’t understand why he was out there in the first place as he battled a painful non-throwing shoulder ailment. The answer went beyond fantasy football or modern thinking about winning and losing. Whereas the average fan “knows” the Jags’ season is over and they should be “tanking” for a better future, Lawrence knew something else: He could send a message to his teammates. I’m the leader, and I’ll do anything to be on the field with you guys. You may think that’s old fashioned or even stupid, but we got the answer to how Lawrence’s teammates felt when they immediately rallied to his cause following the awful hit. 2024 is indeed over for the Jaguars. The Doug Pederson era is also over. Sunday, we at least got confirmation these guys will be playing hard for whomever comes next.
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Five More Week 13 Storylines
Kirk Cousins initiates meltdown mode vs. Chargers. Cousins was already struggling heading into Week 13. He needed a good start coming out of the Falcons’ bye week. What he got instead was the worst start of an always star-crossed career. The dead-armed Cousins of the Falcons’ opener has come roaring back the past few weeks, and no one in Atlanta — least of all Cousins — seems to have any answers. Throwing the laziest picks known to man, Cousins is either in denial about his physical state or simply does not care. It was frankly bizarre to watch, and I don’t know how much longer coach Raheem Morris can watch when he has a first-round rookie Cadillac on the bench. Long since removed from any QB1 consideration even for frames like Week 14 where six teams are on bye, Cousins will be playing for his job against his former team Minnesota on Sunday.
Breece Hall’s grip on Jets backfield loosens. Battling “knee soreness,” Hall didn’t always win. He was in and out of the game, though he did manage to finish it. The biggest concern came before Hall was spotted limping on the sideline. That would be the third series of the first quarter, where fifth-round rookie Isaiah Davis joined Braelon Allen as another first-year nuisance to Hall’s workload supremacy. Davis turned an Aaron Rodgers shovel pass into his first career touchdown. Davis is now halfway to Hall’s touchdown total from the past five weeks. Don’t expect things to get less frustrating down the stretch. Rodgers’ benching feels like an inevitability, while the 3-9 Jets are burrowing deeper into “evaluation mode.” That’s why Davis was playing at all on Sunday, and why Hall won’t be given much largesse to play through his knee issues. Even with six teams on bye for Week 14, Hall now looks like an RB2 instead of the high-end RB1 he was drafted as.
Bryce Young keeps stacking stones ahead of Eagles test. We can sound a bit silly when singing Young’s praises of late. Hey, he didn’t turn the ball over! Hey, he didn’t take five sacks! But anyone who has followed the situation knows that’s legitimate progress. The past two Sundays he has begun to move beyond just not making mistakes. He is now making plays, and doing so with a supporting cast “led” by ancient veteran Adam Thielen and uncertain rookie Xavier Legette. Finally throwing players open, Young is also throwing on the run, something that was one of his calling cards at Alabama. Against all odds, it would seem the benching worked. Young has returned a different player, no longer playing like the sole goal is to avoid mistakes, which, of course, only ever leads to more mistakes. He has his confidence back, as well as his expectations. No more slumped shoulders when Young makes a bad piss. Now the young man is pissed. He is, in other words, actually looking like an NFL quarterback. We won’t be streaming him against the Eagles’ imposing defense, but we will be watching for signs of further progress in his toughest test yet.
Questions
1. Has Josh Allen ever considered that that’s not fair?
2. When did Justin Tucker un-sell his soul?
3. Aaron Rodgers, did you ever consider not throwing a 92-yard pick-six to a defensive tackle?
Early Waivers Look (Players rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues)
QB: Jameis Winston (@PIT), Russell Wilson (vs. CLE), Will Levis (vs. JAX), Derek Carr (@NYG), Aidan O’Connell (@TB)
RB: Jordan Mason, Isaac Guerendo, Jonathon Brooks, Kimani Vidal, Ameer Abdullah, Tank Bigsby, Braelon Allen, Blake Corum
WR: Adam Thielen, Keon Coleman, Devaughn Vele, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Xavier Legette, Parker Washington
TE: Hunter Henry, Zach Ertz, Will Dissly, Juwan Johnson, Luke Schoonmaker
DEF: Dolphins (vs. NYJ), Saints (@NYG), Titans (vs. JAX), Bengals (@DAL), Giants (vs. NO), Bears (@SF)
Stats of the Week
52. That was Gus Edwards’ snap share against the Falcons. Although it was a new season high, it was confirmation there isn’t any more fantasy juice to squeeze out of the Bolts’ role-playing running back. You’re tired of hearing this one, but rookie Kimani Vidal, who is now the No. 2, is the only place upside resides in this J.K. Dobbins-less backfield.
1,897. That’s how many days it had been since Russell Wilson threw for 400 yards in a game. He was taking advantage of a golden Bengals matchup, but when was the last time you remember Wilson wrecking a plus matchup? We aren’t going around looking for reasons to stream Wilson against the Browns, but with six teams on bye for Week 14, we certainly got one. Wilson wasn’t as bad as you think in the Cleveland snow two weeks ago.
As I didn’t even think to consider until Gregg Rosenthal pointed it out, Brock Bowers, uhh, leads the NFL in receptions? And is fourth in receiving? So, uhh, yeah. New dynasty TE1 for years and years and years just dropped.
Two. That’s how many fumbles Aaron Jones had for the first time in his career. It resulted in a justifiable yet still surprising quarters-long benching. He did eventually return to score the game-winning touchdown, but it was further confirmation we are well post-peak with a player the Vikings are trying to protect down the stretch.
41. That was Kyle Pitts’ season-low snap share. He’s been above 54 just once in the past five weeks. The TE1 ship has passed in the night.
Awards Section
Week 13 Fantasy All-Pro Team: QB Jayden Daniels, RB Bucky Irving, RB Bijan Robinson, WR Terry McLaurin, WR Mike Evans, WR Keenan Allen, TE Brock Bowers
Week 13 All Bank Examiner Squad: QB Brock Purdy, RB Breece Hall, RB Kenneth Walker, WR Cooper Kupp, WR Deebo Samuel, WR Tank Dell, TE George Kittle
Tweet of the Week, from Brian Phillips: Anthony Richardson is dressed like he’s taking core samples in Antarctica.
The Who Needs Hall-of-Fame Quarterbacks Award: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who has apparently been waiting all his life for Derek Carr.
The That’s More Than A Normal Amount of Taunting Penalties Award: George Pickens, who should perhaps catch one pass without immediately getting a taunting penalty.
The Sometimes You’re Just Parker Award: John Parker Romo deciding he no longer needs the “John” in his life.
