Mining for Fantasy Gold in San Francisco

November 8, 2020

Dom Petrillo dives into the San Francisco 49ers roster amid numerous injuries to find fantasy football value at QB, RB, and WR.

Injuries have ravaged a lot of NFL teams this 2020 season. From the Cowboys to the Eagles, there have been few teams who have escaped some form of damage. This is no more prevalent than in San Francisco. Not even including massive losses on defense, the 49ers have been without Deebo Samuel and Tevin Coleman for most of the season. On top of this, Raheem Mostert has been on injured reserve for the past month. After this past week, it is hard to see a path where San Francisco can make it back to the playoffs. 

Jimmy Garoppolo has been playing with a bum ankle that will now cost him six weeks and likely the entirety of the fantasy season. George Kittle has already missed time himself and now, with another knee injury, he is out for eight weeks. This leaves very few options for the 49ers and fantasy managers.

Is there any player on the team whom we can start this week? This is what we are going to try to answer. This may change in a couple of weeks as players hopefully get healthy. As for now, the cupboards are laid bare and it will take a lot to find someone worth a fantasy start. 

Nick Mullens

We have seen some good games from Mullens. We have also seen some really bad games from him. With no George Kittle, Raheem Mostert and a limited Jerick McKinnon, the offense is not set up for success. This goes for Mullens as well. There may be a game where he goes off the way he did in the fourth quarter against Seattle, but more likely he will play the way he did on Thursday night against the Packers where he managed only one TD combined with one interception. He did also manage 291 pass yards, though this was due to the fact the Packers sold out for the run knowing there were no true threats in the pass game.  

In one QB leagues, there are much better options than a backup QB on a run-heavy team. In two-QB leagues, you may need to play him as a QB two. If this is the case, best of luck. Just do not expect a miracle 40-point week from him. If you are happy getting 15 points, you will be much more satisfied with the return he will give you on a weekly basis.

Brandon Aiyuk

Although he was unable to play in Week 9 due to COVID, Brandon Aiyuk is still the fantasy favorite on the 49ers roster moving forward. 

With Kittle gone and Samuel out for a further time, Aiyuk will get a majority of the receiving work along with work in the passing game. Much like Samuel was used last season, Aiyuk is a speedster who the 49ers love to use in a variety of ways. If they want to make a push for the playoffs, they will need to continue to do so. 

JaMycal Hasty and Jerick McKinnon are not the full answer in the backfield. If Shanahan wants to continue to use the run game, and he does, he will need to use some trick plays and reverses to the rookie out of Arizona State. 

Already averaging four receptions and six targets per game, this number is set to increase immensely over the next few weeks. Add to this his two TD on four total rushes and we see the weapon he can be in the offense. 

Every season in fantasy football, we hope to find the diamond in the rough who becomes a late-round league winner. After all the injuries suffered by San Francisco, those managers who were smart enough to draft Aiyuk, may have hit the jackpot. He will continue to perform and will be a likely WR two for the rest of the season. With Nick Mullens behind center and throwing the ball, he may even have a WR one week or two in him.

Richie James

After his Thursday night explosion, James will be the hot name to pick up off the waiver wire. While nine receptions for 184 yards and one TD is an amazing line, remember the circumstances which surrounded the achievement. 

Kyle Shanahan came out and stated he had to change the entire offense after the COVID results came through on the roster. Originally, he had planned about 85% of the receiving work to go to Brandon Aiyuk and the other 15% to go to Kendrick Bourne. With both players missing, this obviously had to be different. 

The 184 yards by James was more than his entire 2019 season total. This came on a lot of wide-open plays when the Packers were in the mode to get out with no injuries in the second half of the game. On top of this, both Aiyuk and Bourne should be back next week. Not to mention, Deebo Samuel will be back soon also. This means, if you do use your FAAB or waiver priority on James, it may cost you more than you think. It will also possibly cost you a roster spot for player who can truly help down the line. 

James was a great story this week but it was only a short story. One set to be forgotten about next week with the return of a number of other options in the passing game. He may get a few targets moving forward but this is about all you can expect. He will be lucky to get to the nine receptions of last night for the rest of the season. So, forget about the 184 yards. And also, forget about adding James as a viable play moving forward.

Jerick McKinnon

With 47 rushes and 21 receptions coming into the Week 9 matchup, McKinnon is the leading RB left on the roster for the 49ers. With this said, he is also not the one you want to roster as a fantasy manager. 

After gaining most of the work against the Giants and Eagles due to the injury to Mostert, he has been limited the past two weeks due to tired legs. This is more so Kyle Shanahan’s way of saying he is not a bell cow. Even after having 12 rushes and saving his week with a last-second TD against the Packers, the future is not shining on McKinnon moving forward. 

JaMycal Hasty will be the back to own as running the ball will be far more important with Jimmy Garoppolo and company on injured reserve. McKinnon will get some usage in the passing game, but not much. Last season, when Shanahan really showed what he wanted to do in the NFC Championship game, Garoppolo only put up eight pass attempts. While this is certainly the extreme, it is not hard to imagine, with Mullens behind center, Shanahan will limit passing to under 20 attempts. This will greatly limit what McKinnon will do. 

If you must start McKinnon, make sure it is only as a flex. If he is in your starting lineup as a running back, do not expect a top-24 week from him.

JaMycal Hasty

With the rest of the RB group on IR and McKinnon having tired legs, it is all down to Hasty. He may not be the best RB in the league, but it does not matter. Kyle Shanahan is going to run the ball, player be damned. This means he has value. Do not immediately jump on the lack of usage against the Packers. As we said, McKinnon is the better pass-catching back. With the 49ers getting down early, the game script was not conducive to Hasty getting much work.

We have seen what a Shanahan back can do. Before he was injured, Jeff Wilson had a three-TD game going against the Patriots. It was just last year in the NFC Championship where Raheem Mostert had over 200 rush yards against the Packers. This could be Shanahan’s biggest project yet undertaken.

With 32 rushes and only 132 yards in his rookie season, Hasty will find it challenging to get things moving. To his benefit, the 49ers really have no one else to turn to. This means no matter how good or bad, the job is his. Of course, McKinnon is there. But for how long? He does not have the best track record of health and even though he is younger and much thinner than me, he is dealing with tired legs. With only three pass catches, Hasty is not a three-down back. This aspect will be handled by McKinnon. As for the rush work, this looks to be dominated by the rookie. 

It is a true mess in the San Francisco backfield. Neither back can handle the whole job. Hasty should get more of the work though. So, if you want to start either one of them, he is the one to choose. Just do not expect anything more than a low-end RB two for your troubles.

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