Overreaction Monday: Christian McCaffrey gives fantasy managers something else to worry about

The clear 1.01 in fantasy football drafts entering the 2024 NFL season was Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers. Not only was he the best running back in the NFL on an elite offense, but he was coming off a ridiculous year in which he led the league in rushing yards while tacking on another 564 yards in the air.

McCaffrey did not have to have a repeat of his 2023 campaign to justify being picked 1.01, he just had to be the player he had always been. Unfortunately, those who picked McCaffrey first overall are in a rough spot.

The 28-year-old was expected to play Week 1 before being ruled out very shortly before kickoff with a calf injury. The injury was deemed minor, since he was trending towards playing in the game until just before kickoff. Unfortunately, McCaffrey was placed on IR shortly after their Week 1 win, knocking him out for their next four games at minimum.

Losing McCaffrey for four weeks was far from ideal, obviously, but still didn't feel like the end of the world. It was safe to assume that the 49ers, a team vying for a Super Bowl, was just making sure their superstar running back was fully healthy before throwing him back out there. The latest reporting, however, is troublesome for fantasy managers.

Christian McCaffrey's injury doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that McCaffrey went to Germany over the weekend to meet with a specialist to help his ailing Achilles. It's unclear as to whether this was pre-planned or something that had to happen as a result of some sort of setback, and it's also unclear what McCaffrey is doing there, but it certainly doesn't sound good.

The earliest McCaffrey can return is Week 6 when the Niners take on the Seattle Seahawks, but based on the fact that he just had to go to Germany to get checked out, his chances of returning for that game feel very slim.

The 49ers are a team with Super Bowl aspirations, so their goal is to have the star back in time for the postseason at the latest, but their 1-2 start brings cause for concern, especially with McCaffrey out.

Jordan Mason has been better than anyone could've expected as his replacement, but he's far from CMC. The Niners have not been the dynamic offensive team most expected, and a big reason for that has to do with McCaffrey's absence.

From a fantasy football perspective, nothing about this is ideal. Even when McCaffrey does come back, whenever that is, he'll presumably be limited in some capacity ahead of the postseason. Hopefully, at the very least, McCaffrey managers were able to draft or pick Mason up in free agency to ensure that they have low-end RB1 or high-end RB2 production while McCaffrey is on the sidelines.