Fantasy football: Christian McCaffrey to explode vs. Chargers in Week 10

Fantasy football owners who are fortunate enough to have Christian McCaffrey in their lineups are going to love the 49ers’ Week 10 matchup against the Chargers.

Let’s face it, if you’re a fantasy football owner and you don’t have San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey on your roster, you’re not going to wind up getting him.

Unless you engineer some sort of stupidly crazy blockbuster trade, and even then we’d question your sanity for one player.

However, if you do have McCaffrey, you’re going to love the fact he and the Niners are poised to back up their excellent outing two weeks ago over the Los Angeles Rams, one in which McCaffrey had the holy trifecta of touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving and one passing), with another potentially lopsided affair against Southern California’s other team, the Los Angeles Chargers.

If you’re a fantasy football owner facing McCaffrey in Week 10, sorry.

49ers vs. Chargers is a fantasy football gold mine for Christian McCaffrey owners

McCaffrey was a fantasy gem in Week 8 when the Niners downed the Rams, scoring 22.8 points in ESPN standard-scoring leagues.

That’s a lot for a running back, and it certainly takes into account what he did with all those touchdowns. But, if you’re thinking there’s going to be a letup against the Bolts on Sunday Night Football in Week 10, think again.

ESPN is predicting McCaffrey to go off once more, netting 22.5 fantasy points on Sunday night, which would indicate nearly an identical performance to what he posted two weeks ago.

Considering how problematic Los Angeles’ defense has been this season, particularly against the run, the context for another big game from McCaffrey is certainly there.

The Chargers rank dead last in the NFL in rush yards per attempt (5.7), and in terms of standard fantasy football points allowed to running backs in PPR leagues, their defense has given up the third most at 203.3. Football Outsiders‘ DVOA metric has the Bolts’ run defense as the fourth worst in the NFL.

Mixing in another caveat here in tandem with head coach Brandon Staley’s defense not being able to stop the run this season, San Francisco is a run-first offense anyway, and McCaffrey’s presence is only going to maximize that focus.

Plus, with the 49ers’ defensive desire to limit the amount of field time Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will get on Sunday night, one can figure McCaffrey will get plenty of rushing touches to chew up the clock against LA during this prime-time bout.

More touches generally equate to more fantasy football points, and McCaffrey should be able to deliver those in spades.

So, if you’re a McCaffrey owner in fantasy, enjoy Week 10. If you’re playing McCaffrey in Week 10, though, we’re sorry.