Should you start Christian McCaffrey in fantasy football this week? Here's our take.

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was activated off injured reserve on Saturday and is set to make his NFL season debut on Sunday when the Niners play in Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers.

McCaffrey, the AP Offensive Player of the Year last season, was ruled out just before the 49ers’ season-opener on Monday Night Football back in early September and was then place on IR with bilateral Achilles tendinitis, leaving fantasy managers who took him high in their drafts in a bind.

Assuming you made room on your bench to hold onto a valuable player like McCaffrey after drafting him, you’re probably wondering if you should start him this week.

And the answer is yes. Absolutely.

McCaffrey says he’s “feeling great now” and is “ready to go,” which is good news because the 49ers are dealing with injuries at other skill positions too. Among those ailments, Deebo Samuel is questionable this week.

And with their season at a make-or-break point of sorts – San Francisco is 4-4 heading into this week – they’d like to get a win and build some momentum as McCaffrey gets back into the mix. All of this points to them leaning on him quite a bit, which is typically what Kyle Shanahan does when McCaffrey is healthy.

Consider that the 28-year-old running back led the NFL last season in rushing yards, total yards from scrimmage, total rushing and receiving touches, and touchdowns from scrimmage. When the 49ers are at their best offensively, it’s because McCaffrey is cooking.

When asked earlier this week if McCaffrey could return to a 2023-esque workload, Shanahan, according to sfgate.com, said:

It’s worth betting on the former and plugging McCaffrey into your lineup this week.

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This article originally appeared on For The Win: Should you start Christian McCaffrey in fantasy football this week? Here's our take.