Start Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey is projected for 22.4 PPR points vs 16.8 for James Cook III, and faces the 6th-softest defense against RBs this week.
Updated Nov 7, 4:39 PM ET
| Christian McCaffrey RB · SF | James Cook III RB · BUF | |
|---|---|---|
| Projection (Week 9, avg of sources) | 22.4 | 16.8 |
| Floor (lowest source) | 20.8 | 14.9 |
| Ceiling (highest source) | 23.9 | 18.5 |
| StatChasers projection | 23.2 (RB2) | 16.7 (RB8) |
| Opponent | vs LV | vs MIN |
| Opponent vs. position | 6th-softest (25.3 pts/g allowed) | 5th-toughest (18.4 pts/g allowed) |
| Recent usage | 45% carry share (last 3) | 64% carry share (last 3) |
| Position | RB | RB |
| Our call | START · Strong RB1 | START · Strong RB1 |
Settle every start/sit call with projections, matchup, recent usage and floor-versus-ceiling for your exact scoring settings.
Start Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey projects for 22.4 PPR points vs LV, against 16.8 for James Cook III vs MIN: a 5.6-point edge.
The projection is the average of every source that carries each player this week, and a player listed Out or Doubtful is never the start.
Christian McCaffrey is projected to score more: 22.4 PPR points to 16.8 for James Cook III.
The sources range from 20.8 to 23.9 for McCaffrey and from 14.9 to 18.5 for Cook III. Even Cook III's highest projection is below McCaffrey's lowest.
Christian McCaffrey is the safer start: even the most cautious projection source has McCaffrey at 20.8 PPR points, against 14.9 for James Cook III.
Start the higher floor when you are favored and only need to avoid a dud.
Christian McCaffrey has the higher ceiling: the most optimistic projection source has McCaffrey at 23.9 PPR points, against 18.5 for James Cook III.
Start the higher ceiling when you are the underdog and need points more than safety.
Christian McCaffrey plays LV and James Cook III plays MIN in Week 9.
By fantasy points allowed to each position, McCaffrey faces the 6th-softest defense against RBs and Cook III faces the 5th-toughest defense against RBs, so Christian McCaffrey has the softer matchup.
Each projection already accounts for the opponent, so a soft matchup is a tiebreaker, not a reason to bench the higher projection.
Over his recent games Christian McCaffrey has drawn 45% of his team's carries, and James Cook III 64% of his team's carries.
James Cook III has the bigger role, and volume is the steadiest thing a projection rests on.
These numbers are in PPR. Full PPR adds a point per catch, so it helps whichever player sees more targets.
Switch between PPR, Half PPR and Standard on the board above to rescore both players from the same sources.
Neither Christian McCaffrey nor James Cook III has an injury designation for Week 9.
Designations change through the week, so check again before kickoff; this page updates with each refresh.
Each figure is the average of the projection sources that carry the player this week: StatChasers, Sleeper, ESPN, numberFire, FFToday and the betting markets (sportsbook player props). Christian McCaffrey is projected by 6 of them and James Cook III by 6.
A source with no number for a player is left out of the average rather than counted as a zero.