Fantasy Football: The Top 10 Rookie Running Backs for 2017

2. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers

Average Draft Position: 3.11 (RB17)
Projected Fantasy Points: 157.58 (RB15)

By now, we all know what we're getting with Stanford standout Christian McCaffrey from an ability standpoint. He's a quick runner -- both in and outside the tackles -- and sports a fantastic set of hands out of the backfield. He's the exact thing the Carolina Panthers offense has been lacking in recent years.

Now that they have their guy, the Panthers will look to utilize him alongside Jonathan Stewart. He'll catch passes and spell Stewart on third downs and could very well get the share of the carries by season's end. And all that adds up to a very hot commodity at the running position.

McCaffrey is the second player off the board in rookie-only drafts, but he's also going with pick 3.11 in standard leagues. As for our figures, they say that he's incorrectly behind Mixon. Not only is his expect fantasy output 18 points higher, but his projected rushes (163), total yards (1,143), and touchdowns (7.4) are all superior to those of the Bengals back.