Fantasy Football Player Notes

He's just 26 years old and coming off 2,430 yards and 10 touchdowns over the previous two seasons despite missing two full games. Keep in mind that he was playing through injuries much of last season. The defense is surely going to take a slight step back in 2020, which will lead to more pass attempts, which will lead to more targets. The 49ers added Brandon Aiyuk who'll help stretch the field, which should in turn just open things a bit more for Kittle. His arrow continues to point up. The touchdowns may not match those of Travis Kelce, but we know not to rely on consistency in that department.

After the way Mostert played in the playoffs, many were looking forward to a 2020 breakout season, and it helps knowing that Matt Breida was traded to the Dolphins. The issue is that they are getting Jerick McKinnon back, still have Tevin Coleman, and Jeff Wilson. The passing game also got a new weapon, which could lead to slightly more pass attempts. Despite being on the roster the past two years under Shanahan, Mostert has received 171 carries in 25 games. It's tough to see that changing drastically. There's a chance, which is why he's in the high-end RB3 conversation, but there's also a chance you can't start him with confidence every week.

Samuel suffered a broken foot (a Jones fracture, near the mid-point of the foot) on June 16th and had surgery that same day. He's been given a 10-week timetable for his return to action - six weeks for the fracture to heal plus four weeks to gradually return to playing shape - which would put him back to full speed by the start of the season with the 49ers. He has since avoided the PUP list, though his availability for Week 1 is uncertain. At this point, draft Samuel as a WR4 and don't plan on relying on him for at least the first few weeks, but there's optimism he can contribute significantly soon if he avoids setbacks.

Now that Matt Breida is out of town, you'd think there's more opportunity to be had for Coleman in this backfield, but the return of Jerick McKinnon could affect that. After seeing 16-plus carries in three of his first four games with the 49ers, Coleman never got more than 12 for the remainder of the season. He's best suited for a timeshare role and somewhat of a handcuff to Raheem Mostert. If Mostert were to miss time, Coleman would likely be an every-week RB2.

There are a lot of people (myself included) who don't realize just how impressive Garoppolo's numbers have been to this point in his career. He's averaged at least 8.0 yards per attempt in every year he's started a game, including 8.4 yards per attempt in 2019. He's completed 67.5 percent of his passes, and he has a 2.10:1 touchdown to interception ratio. Despite all that, he's been a top-12 type quarterback in fantasy just 28.0 percent of the time since joining the 49ers. How is that? He plays for Kyle Shanahan and has averaged just 29.7 pass attempts per game. When you do that to a strictly pocket passer, it crushes his fantasy upside. It's unlikely that changes in 2020, especially when you consider he'll be without his No. 1 receiver for a while, as Deebo Samuel recovers from broken foot surgery. It's worth noting that two of his four QB1 performances in 2019 were against the Cardinals, the team he'll play in Week 1. Again, he'll be without Samuel, but George Kittle might go nuclear. Garoppolo is a solid quarterback in 2QB formats, even if he doesn't come with a top-12 type ceiling.

When you're a first-round pick, you're going to get some opportunities, and even more so when the team's No. 1 receiver is out. With Deebo Samuel slated to miss time, Aiyuk is likely to lead the 49ers receivers in targets over the first few weeks. Knowing the schedule starts with the Cardinals, Jets, and Giants, he might get off to a hot start. While watching college film on Aiyuk, he's someone who popped at times, but would then disappear during others. I classified him as more fast than quick, as he is shifty in routes, but lacks elite short-area burst. I thought he'd be a field stretcher who could eventually turn into a complete receiver with some refinement in his intermediate routes. Knowing Garoppolo was arguably the best deep-ball passer in the league last year, that seems like a match. The issue is that the 49ers had him throw deep just 6.5 percent of the time, which was the lowest in the league. We need those numbers to go up for Aiyuk to truly explode. Knowing his early season schedule, it's not a bad idea to snag him as a WR5 and see what happens.

Despite seeing plenty of attempts with the 49ers, last year was fairly disastrous for Gould, as he hit just three quarters of his field goal attempts. He's 37 years old now, so the bottom may have fallen out on the veteran. But for now, he remains an historically accurate kicker on a team the routinely provides its kickers with plenty of field goal attempts. That makes him worth drafting in most fantasy leagues.

It's been a while since we've seen McKinnon on a football field. He's been with the 49ers for two years but hasn't played a down of regular season football. Now that they've traded away Matt Breida, there's a role to be had, but we don't know if he's capable at this stage of his career. There's been some whispers that he may not make the team, though that may be a surprise considering they've held onto him this long. Between Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman, and McKinnon, it's going to be tough to find consistent volume and production in this backfield.