Fantasy Football Managers Should Be Cautious in the Kaelon Black, Jordan James Handcuff Battle
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The RB1 in all of 2025 fantasy football was the legend himself, Christian McCaffrey. Over 17 games, McCaffrey scored 416.6 PPR points by hitting 2,126 total yards on 17 total touchdowns. The 49ers now enter 2026 as a top-5-rated offense. In that case, McCaffrey's handcuff has to be worth something, right? The answer is yes, but who that handcuff is, we must figure out.
The Case for Kaelon Black
The initial 49ers depth chart lists Black as the backup and Jordan James as the RB3. That suggests that Black has somewhat won the battle. However, depth charts can be deceiving. I would rather dissect the details that factor into the long-term classification situation.
Black is a rookie out of Indiana, the defending FBS National Champions. He split a backfield with Roman Hemby. Here was the output of Black's final college season:
- 186 Rushing Attempts
- 1,034 Rushing Yards (5.6 YPC)
- 10 Rushing Touchdowns
- 2 Fumbles
- 7 Targets
- 5 Receptions
- 42 Receiving Yards
In 2025 college football, Black was PFF's 144th-rated running back. The only metric in which Black was ranked top-100 at his position was yards per attempt, largely thanks to his elite offensive line.
Black was drafted 90th overall by the 49ers in a vision that he competes with James for that RB2 job.
When scanning all recent 49ers' coaching comments, the telegraphing is quite difficult. Kyle Shanahan has a reputation for being a poor communicator. All reports out of the 49ers beat concede that Black has probably earned the larger RB2 role. Yet, he will not own the job. It will be a snap-split behind McCaffrey.
Current ADP has Black being selected at about RB53 overall. I have Black as the RB60 in Week 1.
I do measure risk versus reward when considering injury concern, depth chart variance, age, scheme fit, and overall skill level. Black is rated a 2/5 on overall risk-to-reward; not so bad, but not making him a prime handcuff. To be an elite handcuff, I look for a rating of 1/5 or lower. All upside, minimal floor.
The Case for Jordan James
James enters his second year in the NFL. He is a 2025 5th-round draft pick out of Oregon, where he rushed for 1,253 yards and 15 touchdowns in his final season. James hardly played in his rookie year with San Francisco, so I will examine his play upside using his 2024 college stats, which we can compare to Black's listed above.
- 233 Rushing Attempts
- 1,268 Rushing Yards (5.4 YPC)
- 15 Rushing Touchdowns
- 0 Fumbles
- 33 Targets
- 26 Receptions
- 207 Receiving Yards
What stands out clearly is that James adds an element of pass-catching that Black does not. That logically better fits McCaffrey's role as the NFL's best dual-threat running back.
Nonetheless, James has fallen to become RB3 on the initial 49ers depth chart. That scares me. He is a player who, on paper, seems to be the slightly better option. Yet, James has let way formade Black in the pecking order.
I could view this in multiple ways. One, Black has proven better. Another, James is viewed more as a third-down pass-catching back, whereas Black would pound the rock.
In fact, the sentiment is not all that misplaced. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kubiak praised Black's pound-the-rock identity. "He’s a guy who you don’t have to block perfectly every time. He’s going to muscle his way through for five, six yards," Kubiak stated to the media.
Ultimately, the argument is difficult either way. James is a higher risk-rated player at 3/5higher-risk-rated on my scale. He is the RB63 in Week 1.
Kaelon Black or Jordan James?
I think that when we have to delve this deep to find an accurate take, any take will be wrong. There is no clear winner to be the prime handcuff. Rather, it is undefined. The splits might vary from week to week.
The 49ers surely will identify with leading passes out of the backfield, with or without McCaffrey. For that reason, I cannot imagine Black could steal the majority role. Neither could James steal that same role, as he is the current RB3.
Neither running back will be a viable handcuff unless the other gets hurt. In that case, a handcuff shall be mined elsewhere. Here are my favorite handcuffs in 2026 fantasy football (Discounting MarShawn Lloyd).
- Mike Washington Jr. (LVR)
- Emmett Johnson (KC)
- Jonah Coleman (DEN)
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.