Christian McCaffrey on Pace for Historic Season, Plus Total Touches for Top 12 RBs

Week 3 of the 2025 NFL season shook the running back landscape with injuries, high-volume opportunities, and efficiency metrics that are redefining fantasy value.

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) carries the ball against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half at Levi's Stadium. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Three weeks into 2025, the fantasy football market has been frustrated by some rookie running backs, while already seeing three backfield-changing injuries. 

• The Arizona Cardinals lost James Conner for the season, creating a high-volume opportunity for Trey Benson going forward.
• A torn Achilles tendon to Najee Harris gives Omarion Hampton a significant bump in touches, which now supports his early fantasy ADP.
• In Week 2, the Minnesota Vikings lost Aaron Jones for multiple weeks, creating an RB1 role for Jordan Mason.

Bucky Irving Dominates Week 3 Running Back Touches

Here’s a look at the top 14 running backs last week based on touches:

Shawn Childs

Note: I added three highlighted stat columns: TCH = touches, FPTs = fantasy points in PPR scoring, and FPT/T = fantasy points per touch (PPR)

Bucky Irving led Week 3 in touches (29), but he scored only 0.48 fantasy points per touch. His fantasy value was crushed by another elite performance by Jonathan Taylor in fantasy points (32.80). The Colts gave him only 20 touches (10th) for the week, but his value in scoring (three TDs) led to his scoring 1.64 fantasy points per touch.

The top five touch running backs last week all gained under 4.0 yards per carry, but scored well in fantasy points.

• Jahmyr Gibbs (26.90)
• Christian McCaffrey (24.00)
• Omarion Hampton (24.90)

The 49ers gave McCaffrey 15 targets, leading to 10 catches for 88 yards. 

Shawn Child

The top two running backs in fantasy points with between 13 and 18 touches were Jordan Mason (23.60) and Cam Skattebo (24.10), while also rating well in fantasy points per touch (1.48 and 1.51). 

Mason didn’t have a target last week due to game score. The Vikings had him on the field for 60% of their plays. Skattebo looks poised to be the Giants' lead running back going forward, highlighted by his value on all three downs in Week 3. He has the second-most running back targets (8).

Ashton Jeanty (6.30 fantasy points in Week 3) has been a fantasy bust after three games (47/144/1 with five catches for three yards). He’s gaining only 3.1 yards per carry, with no run over 20 yards. The Raiders didn’t throw him a pass last week, which was well below his expected pass-catching opportunity coming into his rookie season.

Jake Ferguson Sees 14 Targets In Wake Of CeeDee Lamb Injury

Shawn Child

Jake Ferguson was the top receiver in touches (13). The Cowboys gave him 14 targets due to CeeDee Lamb getting hurt against the Bears. 

The best running back for the week in fantasy points per touch (2.26) was David Montgomery. He boosted his value in fantasy points (29.40 – 2nd highest RB score of the week) by scoring twice and breaking off a 72-yard run. 

Puca Nacua finished 35th in Week 3 in touches (12) while receiving 15 targets and one carry. Over the first three weeks, he leads all wide receivers in fantasy points (73.50 – PPR) while touching the ball 32 times with 35 targets. 

Christian McCaffrey Leads The League In Touches Through 3 Weeks

For the year, here are the top 12 running backs in touches with the value in fantasy points and fantasy points per touch:

Shawn Childs

Jonathan Taylor (1.10) and James Cook (1.10) are tied for the league lead in fantasy points per touch. Javonte Williams (1.06) also ranks well in this category after the first three weeks.

The Joe Burrow injury has crushed Chase Browns’ run lanes (2.0 yards per carry). He ranks 12th in touches (55) for the year, while scoring only 0.50 fantasy points per touch.

Christian McCaffrey leads the NFL in touches (77) while being on pace to catch 142 passes.  He’s still looking for his first rushing touchdown.