Coming into their Thursday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers are going to need all players to step up as they deal with injuries across their offensive depth chart, especially at the WR position. The 49ers need Trent Taylor to make up for the loss of Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle.
It was going to fall on the shoulders of WRs Brandon Aiyuk and Kendrick Bourne, but they are not available either, leaving very little left for fantasy football managers be relying on.
Is there anyone on the 49ers depth chart that is playable, or is the additional absence of QB Jimmy Garoppolo going to prove too large for any unproven receiver to overcome?
The 49ers WR depth chart has been absolutely decimated due to injuries and close contact tracing
After another round of massively impactful injuries, the 49ers will be without key offensive weapons as they head to Lambeau Field.
Deebo Samuel, WR
First, WR Deebo Samuel has already been ruled out for the game. Nick Wagoner of ESPN reported on Tuesday that the second-year receiver would be out for Week 9 as he tries to come back from a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 7.
Unfortunately, injuries have been the storyline for Samuel this year. He didn’t make his season debut until Week 4 after injuring his foot in the offseason. Once he got onto the field, he showed why he was taken so highly by the team in 2019 out of South Carolina. He caught 16 of his 22 targets for 185 yards and one touchdown in his four games with the team, including back-to-back weeks above 65 yards receiving and five catches.
The ideal scenario was to pair the physical receiver with Brandon Aiyuk, but that has not come to fruition very often this year. However, Samuel missing looks pale in comparison to the massive shadow cast over the 49ers team after losing their best player, TE George Kittle.
George Kittle, TE
I cannot overstate how massive a loss George Kittle is to the 49ers. I don’t know if there is another player in the NFL, outside of a quarterback, that impacts his offense as much as George Kittle does both pre and post-snap. From his motion and giving away defensive schemes, to his unbelievable run-blocking ability, all the way to his receiving ability and being the best tight end after the catch, Kittle does it all.
Kittle had played on 97% of the team’s offensive snaps this year and has seen a team-leading 49 targets (17.8% target share) despite only playing in six games. He leads the 49ers in targets, catches (37), yards (474), and is tied with two touchdowns. He had seen the third-most targets and catches for a tight end across the entire NFL, and was second in receiving yards. Only Travis Kelce and Kittle have eclipsed the 400-yards receiving mark on the year for the position.
Just between Kittle and Samuel, over 25% of the team’s target share is up for grabs in Week 9, but they won’t be coming from Jimmy Garoppolo.
Jimmy Garoppolo
Garoppolo has been dealing with a high-ankle sprain since Week 2, but he has been trying to play through it. On Tuesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that his QB is dealing with a “new” high-ankle sprain in the same foot and will be going onto the injured reserve.
Regardless of when he comes back, it won’t be on Thursday, and Nick Mullens will be the starting quarterback for the 49ers. With all of the personnel changes, who can fantasy managers rely on if they need a player this week?
Who else won’t play for the 49ers on Thursday Night Football?
On Wednesday night, Mike Garofolo of NFL Network reported that WR Brandon Aiyuk, WR Deebo Samuel, and OL Trent Williams have been deemed to have been in “close contact” and are now out for the Thursday night game, leaving the 49ers depth chart absolutely decimated at the skill positions.
They join WR Kendrick Bourne on the close contact list, as he was ruled out early Wednesday afternoon and will miss the requisite five days – at a minimum – depending on testing results. This news comes from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The San Francisco 49ers have also closed their facility in the wake of the recent outbreak. As of the time of writing this article, the game is still scheduled to be played on time, per Adam Schefter.
Trent Taylor and Richie James are the top options on the 49ers WR Depth Chart
When looking at the team’s depth chart at the wide receiver position, Trent Taylor and Richie James are the only active players that are available to be played on Thursday. It’s worth remembering that the team just cut WR Dante Pettis on Tuesday.
Wide receivers River Cracraft, Kevin White, and Chris Finke are options as well, but all three are on the practice squad right now.
With all of this turmoil, can Trent Taylor, Richie James, and the other cast of misfits provide any fantasy value for managers in Week 9, or is it worth avoiding the headache altogether now?
Trent Taylor is going to play a massive role in this offense, but that doesn’t mean an effective one for fantasy
The magic number of the day is 177 or 64.4%. That is the number of targets and the target share that is missing from the 49ers WRs and TEs on Thursday (as of right now). Somehow, it is going to fall onto Trent Taylor and the rest of the team to find some production against a Green Bay defense that allows the seventh-fewest points to opposing wide receivers at 32.09 points per game.
Trent Taylor is coming into the game riding a hot streak after having his season-best game in Week 8, in which he caught three of his four targets for 32 yards. I didn’t say it was a lot.
As of right now, Taylor is the only healthy 49ers WR on the depth chart. While Richie James is on the 53-man roster, he is currently listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
Trent Taylor is a Hail Mary play in fantasy this week
If you are looking for a pure Hail Mary play in fantasy this week,Taylor is your guy. Currently averaging 34.5 attempts per game, the 49ers can’t just run on every play while the Packers put 16 men in the box.
We don’t have much to go off of in terms of times that Trent Taylor has been in a position like this, as he missed the 2019 season due to injuries. Taylor has seen some work this year, catching nine of his 16 targets for 77 yards. With a majority of them coming last week thanks to his season-high 50% offensive snap count, he will be on the field and be given every opportunity possible to succeed.
Yes, he is the WR1 on the 49ers depth chart, but I can’t list Taylor as anything more than a low-end WR4. In DFS, by all means, take a shot if you want, but in standard fantasy leagues, I would steer clear.
That goes for the rest of the 49ers wide receivers. I can’t advocate plugging someone who was just on the practice squad and using them on day one.
I know JaMycal Hasty was on the practice squad and all of that, but none of these guys have worked together. It’s one thing to be able to meet at the mesh point in the pocket, and it is a totally different thing to be on the same timing and be able to throw the anticipatory routes and be in the spot the quarterback expects you to be in on any given play.
Outside of Trent Taylor and the 49ers WRs, is there any player that I can trust for fantasy in Week 9 when examining the 49ers depth chart?
Trust is a very strong word, but a few players pique my interest – mainly the tight ends in both Jordan Reed and Ross Dwelley, who now see a larger role with the already impossible task of filling in for George Kittle.
The downside of Reed is that he is still on IR due to a knee injury, but it was said that he is going to be available in a limited fashion. That was said before all of this broke out, so limited might turn into a larger chunk they initially expected.
Ross Dwelley is the other tight end that makes some sense in maybe a deeper league or 2TE formats. So far on the season, he has caught six of his nine targets for 33 yards and scored a touchdown. He has also put up five games where he recorded no fantasy points or saw a target. He is going to see tagets this week — that’s for sure — but the ceiling is much lower than that of Reed.
The final person I could see getting some passing work is RB Jerick McKinnon. He is the pass-catching back for the 49ers and I can see him being utilized heavily on dump-offs. Granted, the Packers will be ready for it, but at least you are getting a point per reception for your fantasy leagues. The downside for McKinnon is that has he been dealing with what the team called “tired legs.” If he didn’t have them before, he will after this game.
All in all, I have a hard time playing anyone involved in the 49ers passing game, unless you are absolutely desperate for fantasy.
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