In this article series, I’m analyzing every one of the 32 NFL teams and all of their redraft-relevant fantasy assets. It’s a long project, but I want to make sure that you, the reader, have something you can refer to for every team. For each article, I’ll split up the fantasy assets into three categories: high-end assets, usable contributors, and dart throws. I’ll reference my PPR redraft rankings at the time of writing, which are here. If you want to read my previous work in this series, the full list with links is at the bottom of the article. Let’s jump into the 49ers.
High-End Assets
George Kittle
Even though the 49ers went to the Super Bowl in 2019, George Kittle is their only fantasy asset that I’m very excited to have on my roster in 2020. Kittle had a solid rookie year in 2017, where he caught 43 of 63 targets for 515 yards and two touchdowns. He was only the TE19, but he showed his potential. Then, in 2018, Kittle burst onto the scene with a TE3 finish. He had 88 receptions on 136 targets for a whopping 1377 yards and five touchdowns, despite not having starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for most of the season.
In 2019, Kittle followed up on his strong performance from 2018. Although he missed two games to injury, he still finished as the TE2 and just a hair behind TE1 Travis Kelce in fantasy points per game. Kittle had 85 receptions for 1053 yards and five touchdowns and was the focal point of the 49ers’ offense once again.
Going into 2020, Kittle is a rock-solid top tight end, worthy of a top selection. As I’ve mentioned numerous times in this series, streaming the tight end position is very difficult in redraft formats, so having a top tight end is a huge advantage. Kittle is my TE2, behind only Kelce, and he comes in at 16th overall in my redraft rankings. He’s played 45 of 48 games in his career and is a lock to produce, so I have no problem with his draft price. I expect to have many shares of Kittle in 2020.
Usable Contributors
Deebo Samuel
In 2019, Deebo Samuel emerged as the 49ers’ top receiver midway through his rookie year. He began taking starter’s snaps in Week 6, and he broke out down the stretch. He finished second on the team in targets, receptions, and yards, all behind Kittle. Samuel’s line of 57 receptions on 81 targets for 802 yards and three touchdowns bodes well for his future as an NFL wide receiver.
Even as a rookie, Samuel finished as the WR31 in PPR formats. Compared to 2019, the 49ers lost Emmanuel Sanders to free agency and replaced him with the first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk. They made no other significant changes to the receiving game, so Samuel should have a similar opportunity share in 2020. I believe that Aiyuk will take a bit of time to adapt to the NFL game, so I expect Samuel to continue to be the number one receiver and second-option behind Kittle.
Even though the 49ers are a run-first team with a mediocre quarterback in Garoppolo, I still think Samuel will carve out fantasy relevance. He’s only my WR26, though. I don’t think the 49ers’ offense can support a WR1 on top of Kittle, so Samuel has somewhat less upside than some of the players in his value range, especially T.Y. Hilton and D.K. Metcalf who are just above him in my rankings. With that said, getting Samuel as my WR3 would make me ecstatic, and I could live with him as my WR2.
Raheem Mostert
Once we move past Kittle and Samuel, I’m not very excited about the rest of the 49ers’ players. The 49ers’ run game, in particular, presents a terrible paradox for fantasy owners. They finished second in rushing yards with 2,305, behind only the Ravens, and first in rushing touchdowns with 23. This strong rushing performance happened despite Garoppolo only contributing 62 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
In 2019, the 49ers’ backfield was an ugly committee, with Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, and Raheem Mostert all receiving a similar number of touches. Coleman and Mostert tied for the lead with 137 carries while Breida had 123. Additionally, Jeff Wilson Jr. came onto the field for 27 carries but vultured four rushing touchdowns. On top of that, the 49ers also use fullback Kyle Juszczyk in the receiving game, giving him 24 targets in 2019, which he turned into 20 receptions for 239 yards and a touchdown.
This offseason, the 49ers decided to trade Breida to the Dolphins, which I broke down here. In that article, I recommended avoiding all of the 49ers’ running backs in dynasty formats, outside of a super late flier on Jerick McKinnon. In redraft, I have to recommend the same. I have Mostert ranked as my RB29, and I know I will not get him at that price. While Mostert found success in 2019, he was also pulled off the field for Coleman at random times, and I can’t possibly trust anyone from this backfield on my fantasy team.
Tevin Coleman
As much as I don’t want Mostert on my fantasy team, you can double that sentiment for Coleman. I did a deep-dive on why Coleman is “Dead to Me,” which you can read here. All of the same issues about reliability apply to Coleman just like they did for Mostert, except Coleman is a multi-year failure as a fantasy asset.
I even believe that McKinnon is a more talented player than Coleman, and if McKinnon can’t stay healthy, the 49ers will find someone else to play over Coleman. Coleman averaged 4.0 YPC in 2019 and scored three of his six rushing touchdowns in one game. Outside of that one game, Coleman was never a fantasy asset and burned you if you ever tried to start him. He’s my RB44, and I can’t imagine ever drafting him. He’s probably one of my least favorite relevant running backs this fantasy season.
Dart Throws
Brandon Aiyuk
Aiyuk was a first-round pick, going 25th overall after the 49ers traded up to acquire him. Based on that draft capital, I believe that Aiyuk will come in as an immediate starter alongside Samuel. The 49ers like to use 12 and 21 personnel, so Samuel and Aiyuk will be the receiving duo in those heavier formations.
Given that the 49ers are a run-first team, I don’t think there’s room to support a third receiving option past Kittle and Samuel. The 49ers also like to throw to the running backs, with the running back group totaling over 100 targets in 2019. In this offseason environment, rookies like Aiyuk might struggle to adapt, and I don’t love his situation for an immediate breakout anyway. He’s my WR64, and I have him outside of my draftable range for redraft formats. If I’m wrong about him, I’ll look for him on waivers, where I think he’ll end up after a slow start.
Jerick McKinnon
McKinnon is only a dart throw at this stage in the offseason. He hasn’t played football since 2017, missing all of the last two seasons with a knee injury. After signing a big free-agent contract to be the 49ers’ workhorse back before 2018, he had to restructure his contract down to $1.16 million to remain on the roster for 2020.
With all that said, I don’t think highly of either Mostert or Coleman, so if McKinnon is fully healthy, I believe he’ll have a role in the 49ers’ offense. However, like all 49ers’ running backs, I’ll struggle to trust any of them, and I certainly won’t spend a draft pick on McKinnon in 2020. After Week 1 or 2, I’ll look for McKinnon on waivers if he’s the second running back in the committee over Coleman and behind Mostert. I just wanted to remind everyone that McKinnon once projected to be a fantasy stud and not to forget about him completely. He’s my RB64.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Oddly, we come to Garoppolo last in this article based on my redraft rankings. With the depth at the quarterback position in fantasy football, Garoppolo is not the quarterback I want to have on my fantasy team. While Garoppolo finished as the QB14 in 2019, he wasn’t a fantasy asset. He averaged 16.3 fantasy points per game, 22nd among quarterbacks. He only finished as high as he did because he played all 16 games.
As I mentioned above, Garoppolo adds nothing as a rusher, with his 62 yards rushing in 2019 being his career-high in rushing yards. Therefore, he has no fantasy floor and no upside in the 49ers’ run-first offense. Garoppolo is my QB25, behind players like Gardner Minshew, Kirk Cousins, and Teddy Bridgewater.
While I have no interest in Garoppolo in general, I do have to mention one thing that makes him relevant for 2020. In my NFL schedule release reaction, I noted that Garoppolo opens Week 1 with a home game against the Cardinals. He torched the Cardinals in both of his 2019 starts against them, throwing four touchdowns in each game. Since I often recommend waiting on a quarterback until the last round or two, you can draft Garoppolo at that point since nobody else will bother to pick him. Use him for Week 1, where he’ll be a top-10 play and then drop him for Week 2 to pick up a streamer. I’ll be writing my streamers column again this year to help you out.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Karp. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
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