Overview
- Citing ESPN’s positional ballots published in early July, McCaffrey landed at No. 4 overall and received votes that ranged from a No. 1 ranking to being left off some ballots.
- Multiple league evaluators and one unnamed NFC executive told ESPN on Monday that McCaffrey has “declined some” and recommended using him less as the focal point of both the run and pass game to restore explosiveness.
- The concern follows an exceptionally heavy 2025 season when McCaffrey logged a league-high 413 regular-season touches and more than 2,000 scrimmage yards but fell to about 3.9 yards per carry.
- Reporting from beat writers notes McCaffrey’s contract structure leaves 2027 with a large non‑guaranteed salary and a roughly $26.4 million cap charge, creating a decision point to extend, restructure, or cut him after 2026.
- Despite intense offseason training videos showing strong conditioning, analysts and fantasy experts have flagged regression risk for 2026 and say the key things to watch are reduced pass targets, backup running back usage, and McCaffrey’s early-season efficiency.