49ers RB Christian McCaffrey's 100 touches in four games is a league-high among RBs. But he may be relied on even more heavily tonight as the 49ers' offense is decimated ahead of Thursday Night Football vs. the Rams tonight — QB Brock Purdy, the top three WRs, and TE George Kittle are all out.
Below, we'll break down McCaffrey's projections and top picks on PrizePicks for Thursday Night Football tonight from SoFi Stadium, set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
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McCaffrey will be the engine for the 49ers offense tonight — potentially even more so than usual.
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey Projection: 52.5 Receiving Yards
Christian McCaffrey is averaging 76.25 receiving yards per game through the first four weeks this season and hasn't recorded fewer than 52 receiving yards in any game so far.
McCaffrey is averaging a whopping 10.75 targets per game, with 7.1 yards per target, and 9.8 yards per reception. He could be the main target in the pass game again today vs. the Rams, especially considering all of the injuries to WR Ricky Pearsall, WR Brandon Aiyuk, WR Jauan Jennings, and TE Jake Tonges — all of which are out tonight.
So why is his receiving projection this low?
The projection likely factors in McCaffrey’s last five games, including Week 13 of 2024, when he played just 25% of the snaps in a snowy matchup against the Bills. He managed only 14 receiving yards before leaving the game.
In three full games last year, McCaffrey averaged 44 receiving yards per game.
When that outlier is factored in with his 2025 performance, it may be why we’re seeing this 52.5 receiving yards projection for this week’s game.
Find more 49ers vs. Rams Predictions and Picks for Thursday Night Football HERE
If we take a step back from McCaffrey’s absurd start to 2025, in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, McCaffrey only had more than 52.5 receiving yards in 5 of 23 games.
Of course, the circumstances are different on Thursday Night Football than in those games, as the 49ers will run out 30-year-old journeyman Kendrick Bourne and middling long-ball merchant Demarcus Robinson as their starting WRs, with undrafted TE Jake Tonges at tight end.
More Christian McCaffrey Projections vs. Rams Tonight
Here are more projections for Christian McCaffrey vs. Rams via the PrizePicks NFL board — pick More or Less on these stats to win real money on Thursday Night Football!.
- 15.5 Rush Attempts
- 60.5 Rushing Yards
- 0.5 Rush+Rec TDs
- 22 Fantasy Score
- 8.5 Targets
- 7 Receptions
- 52.5 Receiving Yards
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The 49ers are without QB Brock Purdy, WR Jauan Jennings, WR Ricky Pearsall, WR Brandon Aiyuk, and TE George Kittle tonight, leaving Christian McCaffrey as the only starter remaining on the San Francisco roster.
McCaffrey comes in averaging a monster 25 touches per game through four games.
The Los Angeles Rams rank 13th in the league in scoring and 10th in EPA/play, with 25 points per game; so the 49ers will need to put points on the board to keep pace.
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