Fantasy Football: Five rookies worth drafting and stashing

Christian McCaffrey – RB – Carolina Panthers

There is a lot of good running back talent early in the draft. But with Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook hampered by injuries, Joe Mixon’s off the field actions being a red flag, and it came down to Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara concerning long-term potential. What separates McCaffrey for me is his ability to be more than just a running back. McCaffrey is a swiss-army knife for the Carolina Panthers immediately. He excels as a receiver both out of the backfield and in the slot. His shiftiness and vision will aid him in winning the starting running back job relatively early in his career, and he will have Cam Newton to take pressure off of him.

McCaffrey is a swiss-army knife for the Carolina Panthers immediately. He excels as a receiver both out of the backfield and in the slot. His shiftiness and vision will aid him in winning the starting running back job relatively early in his career, and he will have Cam Newton to take pressure off of him.

McCaffrey’s versatile skill-set allows him to have a leg up on a lot of those other running backs drafted. In PPR leagues McCaffrey is a no brainer but in the new age of pass-catching backs, McCaffrey could follow the path trail blazed by Le’Veon Bell regarding production and tools.