DFS Showdown Captain Breakdown: Should Christian McCaffrey or Puka Nacua Get the Nod?

Christian McCaffrey and Puka Nacua are the faces of their offense, but who makes the better captain on DFS showdown contests?

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) during training camp at SAP Performance Facility. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The NFL’s first game in Australia will feature two of the more productive offenses with Christian McCaffrey and Puka Nacua at the forefront of their respective teams.

McCaffrey and Nacua are intriguing options as DFS captains for this contest with each player offering a different outlook for DFS players to consider. 

Christian McCaffrey (DraftKings: $ 15.9K, FanDuel: $19.5K)

McCaffrey is the most expensive option on FanDuel, while ranking behind Nacua on DraftKings. McCaffrey’s salary reflects a heavy usage from the 49ers running back and DFS can expect that this evening.

McCaffrey finished with a career-high 413 touches last season with a heavy amount of touches coming in the two contests against the Los Angeles Rams last season. McCaffrey tallied 50 total touches for 235 scrimmage yards against the Rams last season with 30 coming in a 26-23 overtime win and 30 in a 42-26 loss. 

What makes McCaffrey’s history of touches against the Rams intriguing is the amount of receptions the four-time Pro Bowler totaled in the two matchups. In each of the matchups last season, McCaffrey finished with 8 receptions in both matchups. McCaffrey’s receiving upside makes the six-time All-Pro more interesting in DraftKings than in FanDuel with DraftKings using PPR scoring compared to FanDuel’s Half-PPR scoring.

McCaffrey tallied 27.9 and 17.6 PPR points against the Rams last season and should be in any DFS lineup tonight, regardless if he’s your captain or not.

9 DAYS UNTIL 49ERS FOOTBALL.

Christian McCaffrey vs. Rams — Week 5, 2025:

22 carries
57 rushing yards
8 receptions
82 receiving yards
139 total yards
1 TD

49ers win 26-23 in OT.#49ers #FTTB #9ersmuse pic.twitter.com/fc42WuC8K3

— 49ersMuse (@9ersmuse) September 2, 2026

Puka Nacua (Draftkings: $16.8K, FanDuel: $18.6K)

Nacua has the ability to break out in any game, but has to fight through a multitude of offensive weapons to shine.

Nacua finished with decent numbers by his standards in last season’s matchups against the San Francisco 49ers. The two-time Pro Bowler finished with 15 receptions for 149 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

While the numbers led to a decent DFS finish, there were other Rams skill players who had better production. Davante Adams led the Rams in receiving yards in both contests, albeit by a slight margin over Nacua. Kyren Williams finished with more Fantasy points on both sites over Nacua as Williams finished with 2 touchdowns in each contest. 

Nacua has a high floor heading into the contest, but has to fight against his teammates to be the top Fantasy provider on his team. 

The Verdict

It all comes down to which site is your DFS preference. McCaffrey has similar projected ownerships on both sites with 60.6% on DraftKings and 55.6% on FanDuel. Nacua ranks ahead of McCaffrey on projected ownership on DraftKings at 66.5%, while being way behind at 28% on FanDuel.

McCaffrey’s workload makes the running back an intriguing prospect at captain on either site. It’s hard to pass up a floor of 20 touches to a ceiling of 30-plus touches, especially with a decent amount of the touches potentially being receptions. McCaffrey’s receiving upside makes him most intriguing on DraftKings.

Looking at the projected ownership, Nacua looks like a must play on FanDuel. Nacua won’t be around this ownership range often and it’s too hard to pass up. The Half-PPR scoring is a factor considering before placing Nacua as captain on FanDuel, but the 2025 first-team All-Pro has the ability to be the top scorer in this contest.

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