Who to Buy in the 49ers Offense

May 22, 2019

Brandon Murchison takes an in-depth look at the state of the 49ers offense form a fantasy perspective. Whether it be for redraft leagues or dynasty, who are the players that you need to watch for in order to help you win in 2019 and beyond?

The 2018 San Francisco 49ers may have been one of the bigger disappointments to fantasy owners. Much was to be expected from Jimmy Garoppolo and this offense led by Kyle Shanahan. All that seemed to come crashing down just three games into the season as Garoppolo lost to a knee injury. The entire offense then became more run-based at that point. Besides the record-breaking season put forth by George Kittle, finding a reliable second option in the passing game was a tall task. Due to a number of players missing games, Kendrick Bourne (42 catches) paced the field in this group of receivers. That must change heading into 2019. A healthy Garoppolo will go a long way towards spiking a big statistical improvement for the 49ers.

The backfield for the team was another messy situation as well last year. Free agent signee Jerick McKinnon was lost in training camp with a knee injury, putting the workload into more of a committee mindset. Matt Breida (137.5 FP) was the leading points scorer of the group but even he missed time with countless injuries. Alfred Morris was a shell of his former self while Jeffrey Wilson and Raheem Mostert each provided splashes late in the year for owners working the waiver wire. Now with the addition of Tevin Coleman, the 49ers backfield could become one of the worst situations in fantasy for the 2019 season.

But the question that remains for fantasy owners as preparations begin for the new season is who are the players to target in drafts? After the draft, the team is rounding into shape and there will be players on this offense that can provide a spark to your roster. But who will they be? That's what I am here to tell you.

Players to Buy

These players should be considered good values in the dynasty market. Target them in a trade if you can get them for a low price now.

Jimmy Garoppolo

He enters the 2019 season on a far different note than a year ago. A player that was routinely being drafted as a QB1 now sits as QB16 according to current ADP. That's a much easier price to settle on as he could easily develop into a QB1 with the pieces on this offense and the sharp mind of Shanahan to guide him. Not that having George Kittle is anything to turn your nose up at, but the progression from receivers Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin will add wrinkles to the offense.

Even with the 25th-ranked schedule for QBs, I expect to see Garoppolo put together a very nice season. Garoppolo is a player that will exceed his ADP and be in the conversation as a low-end fantasy QB1.

Tevin Coleman

Finally reuniting with Kyle Shanahan after their time together in Atlanta, Coleman enters the fray in the 49ers backfield jungle. I've stated numerous times over the course of the last year that the team would add Coleman due to his familiarity with the offense. Now he must go out and take this job and run with it. Coming off the board as the 31st RB in current ADP, the common perception is that he is the RB to own, as he should be.

With so many bodies looking for touches on this depth chart, I can't envision Coleman becoming a three-down back (even though he has shown the chops to be a receiving threat averaging 30 catches over the last three years). Look for Coleman to handle a majority of the early down work for the team, making him more valuable in standard scoring formats. He likely values out as an RB3 in 2019 for the 49ers, but his outlook in dynasty leagues is one that I would want to take a shot at for cheap right now over the concern that Matt Breida and Jerick McKinnon will kill his value.

Dante Pettis

With so many people excited about the fantasy future of Deebo Samuel on this roster, some may be overlooking Pettis. After an injury-riddled start to his rookie season, he turned things on after the team's bye week (79.70 FP and WR21 from week 12 on last season). Provided he carries over the strong end to last season, Pettis is primed for a breakout in 2019. Look for he and Garoppolo to spark a connection early in the season and lead to several big performances. With the 12th-ranked schedule for receivers, there will be several games to take advantage of. Also, his ADP of WR35 is one that I will gladly buy at that price as he should finish the season in the WR2 area. Grab him in your dynasty leagues now before his price gets out of hand.

Jalen Hurd

Hurd is the other receiver that the team drafted in this year's draft. While other owners salivate over Samuel in rookie drafts, you can grab Hurd for a much lesser price. He may not provide much value back in 2019, but beyond that could be another story. He is a converted running back and may be used as a dual-threat as his role expands in the offense. Think Cordarrelle Patterson. A perfect player that I want on my roster in dynasty as he progresses in the NFL.

Buyer Beware

These players aren't strictly sells but I am advising against buying at an inflated price right now. If you already own them, consider holding unless you get great value in return.

George Kittle

Now I'm not advocating for dismissing Kittle for the upcoming season but beware of his ADP as we get into the summer. You'll likely see plenty of owners chasing last year's numbers, but the odds of him repeating that success is slim. There are just too many mouths to potentially feed in this offense for me to use a third-round pick on him, even as great as he is.

Deebo Samuel

Now you've heard me mention him a couple of times in this article, but I am a fan of his game as it translates to the NFL. But in rookie drafts and even in redraft leagues, I foresee his ADP getting a little out of hand. Based on how inconsistent his production will likely be early on, I could grab other players that fit a role much easier. He should develop into a solid fantasy asset down the road, but the talk of him becoming a viable starter in the first two years might be getting ahead of ourselves.

Jerick McKinnon

With the addition of Coleman, this backfield is doomed to be thinned out by the time the season kicks off. I've been on record several times saying that I believe that McKinnon may just be the odd man out here. He signed a very team friendly deal just a year ago and the 49ers could decide to part ways with him. If you are a McKinnon owner in dynasty, I might test the waters for a potential trade just to see what the value may be that you can get back.

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