Intro
I love writing these storyline pieces. I will go through the games and discuss one dynasty-relevant storyline per team that I’m excited to see. Usually, I’ll split the games into two sets, covering the early games in one story and the later games in another. Also, I’ll do a special spotlight on the Thursday night game from time to time, as that’s a midweek contest. I like to go into more detail for that game, just for a change of pace.
We all play fantasy football to enhance our enjoyment of football, and I’m trying to add to that sense of happiness here. Fun is the most essential part of this hobby for all of us, including me. With that said, let’s jump into Thursday night’s game between the Packers and 49ers!
49ers
At this point, the most important story with the 49ers has to be their injuries. It would likely be simpler to list the healthy offensive players, but I’ll quickly review their injured players. Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, Raheem Mostert, Jordan Reed, and Jeff Wilson are all on injured reserve.
Garoppolo and Kittle have significant injuries and may miss the rest of the 2020 season. Mostert and Wilson have a chance to return sooner, but neither will play in this game. Reed has already returned to practice, and he actually has a decent chance to play and start at tight end.
Beyond the injured reserve, the 49ers have ruled out Tevin Coleman, Deebo Samuel, and now Kendrick Bourne and Brandon Aiyuk, who are on the COVID-19 list. Therefore, the 49ers will start Nick Mullens at quarterback, although he will have few healthy players to use. His offensive weapons will include JaMycal Hasty and Jerick McKinnon at running back, Trent Taylor at wide receiver, and Reed and Ross Dwelley at tight end.
I essentially don’t care about McKinnon, Taylor, Reed, and Dwelley from a dynasty lens. McKinnon has been phased out of the 49ers’ offense, and he wouldn’t see any touches if any other running backs could play. Taylor is purely a slot receiver who’s buried on the depth chart. While Reed or Dwelley could see some limited value for the rest of 2020, neither is a long-term solution, and Kittle will return to dominate the tight end position in 2021.
However, I will watch Hasty closely as he’s a running back scheduled to dominate touches. I think the 49ers have a void behind Mostert at running back, and Hasty could compete for a long-term depth role if he succeeds. I’m not saying that I expect Hasty ever to become a starter, but nobody expected Mostert to become a starter either. The 49ers have no hesitation in using undrafted free agents at running back, with both Mostert and Matt Breida as recent examples.
Packers
Like the 49ers, the Packers have significant injury struggles going into this game, although they’re in far better shape. They failed to trade for Will Fuller before the trade deadline, but I expect Allen Lazard potentially to return for this game. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown have utterly failed to impress as the Packers’ WR2 behind Davante Adams. Therefore, I’d love to see what Lazard could do in that role as he played earlier in the season.
However, the Packers’ running back room contains the most intrigue. AJ Dillon will miss this week after contracting COVID-19, and Jamaal Williams will also sit out after he was a close contact of Dillon. Starter Aaron Jones has a questionable tag for the game, but I’m not optimistic he can play.
If Jones misses the game, the Packers will split their workload between Tyler Ervin and Dexter Williams. I really liked Williams last season when he was a sixth-round rookie, although he never made any impact. If Williams gets some work, I’ll carefully observe him to see if he flashes any of the upside I saw last year.
Finally, I’m curious if the Packers get Jace Sternberger more involved. They’ve discovered Robert Tonyan as their primary tight end, but they also spent a third-rounder on Sternberger in 2019. Without wide receiver depth, the Packers may want to deploy more 2TE sets, opening up opportunities for Sternberger. It’s just something to watch in this and future games.
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.
Previous Storyline Articles: Week 6 Early Games, Week 6 Late Games, Week 7 Thursday Night, Week 7 Early Games, Week 7 Late Games, Week 8 Thursday Night, Week 8 Early Games, Week 8 Late Games
