Fantasy Football Player Notes
2025 PPR Draft Rankings
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13.
Christian McCaffrey
RB - (vs . SEA)
It's obviously risky to draft Christian McCaffrey. He played only four games last year due to bilateral Achilles tendinitis and a PCL injury. Over his 10-year career, there have been four seasons in which McCaffrey played seven or fewer games. And now he's 29 years old. But the potential rewards are vast. McCaffrey is two years removed from having more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns. He's in a Kyle Shanahan offense. If McCaffrey stays healthy, he's going to smash, which is why he still warrants consideration as a late first-round or early second-round pick.
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34.
George Kittle
TE - (vs . SEA)
George Kittle continues to string together outstanding seasons. He cleared 1,000 receiving yards in 2024 for a second straight year, finishing with 78 catches for 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns despite missing two games. A model of efficiency last season, Kittle established new career bests in catch rate (83.0%) and yards per target (11.8). Kittle was also a gem in last season's fantasy playoffs, producing two of his four 100-yard games in Weeks 16 and 17. Since his second NFL season, Kittle has finished TE3, TE2, TE3, TE4, TE2, TE5 and TE1 in half-point PPR fantasy points per game. Kittle turns 32 in October, and his violent style has led to some injuries over the years, but he has shown no signs of slowing down, and he has a bright 2025 target outlook for a 49ers offense that might not have a clear alpha wide receiver.
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76.
Ricky Pearsall
WR - (vs . SEA)
A late-first-round pick in last year's NFL Draft, Ricky Pearsall played 11 games as a rookie after recovering from a gunshot sustained in an attempted robbery. He caught fire down the stretch, with 8-141-1 vs. the Lions in Week 17 and 6-69-1 vs. the Cardinals in Week 18. Pearsall is 6-foot-1, has 4.4 speed, and he's going to have a full-time role in the 49ers' offense. It's possible he emerges as the 49ers' top wide receiver this year, and he looks like a value at his WR4 price.
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90.
Jauan Jennings
WR - (vs . SEA)
Jauan Jennings has developed into a useful pass catcher in the middle part of his career. But I'm mildly skeptical of last season's age-27 breakout, which was partly fueled by the absences of fellow WRs Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall for large parts of the season. And it's not as if it was a massive eruption for Jennings. He was tied for WR26 in half-point PPR fantasy points per game among WRs who played at least eight games. After never averaging better than 1.38 yards per route run in his first three NFL seasons, Jennings jumped to 2.26 yards per route run in 2024. I'm buying the improvement. I'm just not buying Jennings as a comfortable every-week fantasy starter -- which you need him to be at a sixth- or seventh-round ADP. Pearsall came on strong down the stretch last season. Aiyuk is on his way back from last year's season-ending knee injury. George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey are going to draw ample targets. It's just hard to see Jennings taking it up another notch with all that target competition.
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94.
Brock Purdy
QB - (vs . SEA)
The very last player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Brock Purdy has given the 49ers two-plus good seasons and was rewarded with a five-year, $265 million contract that included more than $182 million in guaranteed money. After a QB6 fantasy finish in 2023, Purdy finished QB14 in overall fantasy scoring last year, QB12 in fantasy points per game. Purdy went from an NFL-best 9.6 yards per pass attempt in 2023 to a still-good 8.5 YPA in 2024. Purdy's TD rate fell from 7.0% to 4.4%, but he boosted his rushing output, running for 323 yards and five touchdowns. Injuries to WR Brandon Aiyuk, RB Christian McCaffrey and multiple offensive linemen didn't help Purdy's cause last year. Purdy is a sound investment as a low-end QB1 or high-end QB2 in 2025 fantasy drafts.
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144.
Brandon Aiyuk
WR - (vs . SEA)
Brandon Aiyuk tore his ACL in Week 7 of 2024 and might begin the 2025 season on the PUP list. Aiyuk's season was off to a rough start before the injury. He only reached 50 receiving yards once in the seven games he played. He had zero touchdowns. His catch rate was barely 50%. Now, Aiyuk's target competition includes George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall. Aiyuk is a full fade for me this season.
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146.
Brian Robinson Jr.
RB - (vs . SEA)
With seventh-round rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt drawing raves in Washington's training camp, the Commanders traded Robinson to the 49ers for a sixth-round draft pick. Robinson will probably be the top backup to 49ers lead RB Christian McCaffrey, although the San Francisco RB room also includes second-year man Isaac Guerendo and rookie Jordan James. There's zero stand-alone value for Robinson now, but he appears to be the preferred handcuff for McCaffrey and would have considerable upside in Kyle Shanahan's RB-friendly system if CMC were to go down.
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213.
San Francisco 49ers
DST - (vs . SEA)
The Niners have the easiest schedule in the NFL in 2025. Perks of finishing in fourth place in the NFC West, combined with matchups against the AFC South and NFC South.
And even though they open up the season with back-to-back road contests, it's at Seattle and New Orleans. Sam Darnold and Tyler Shough. Draft the 49ers D/ST that should have better health in 2025 under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Their DST ranks No. 1 in the FantasyPros strength of schedule tool. |
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218.
Isaac Guerendo
RB - (vs . SEA)
Isaac Guerendo was poised to be among the most valuable handcuff RBs in fantasy football this year as the presumed backup to the oft-injured Christian McCaffrey, who played only four games last year. But an Aug. 22 trade that brought ex-Commander Brian Robinson Jr. to San Francisco put Guerendo's role in doubt. Guerendo showed some intriguing flashes as a rookie. When he made his first two NFL starts in Weeks 14 and 15, he rolled up 203 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in those contests. But Guerendo now appears to have little redraft value for 2025.
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237.
Matt Gay
K - (vs . SEA)
Matt Gay takes over in Washington after kicking for Indy last year. Last year, he was the K13 in fantasy points per game while logging the second straight season with less than 84% of his field goals made. Gay should post top 12 fantasy kicker numbers in 2025, but the week-to-week volatility could be maddening if his accuracy doesn't bounce back to 2021-2022 levels (93.3-94.1% of his field goals made).
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306.
Jordan James
RB - (vs . SEA)
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345.
Demarcus Robinson
WR - (vs . SEA)
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386.
Kyle Juszczyk
RB - (vs . SEA)
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406.
Jacob Cowing
WR - (vs . SEA)
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418.
Eddy Pineiro
K - (vs . SEA)
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419.
Jordan Watkins
WR - (vs . SEA)
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455.
Skyy Moore
WR - (vs . SEA)
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459.
Kendrick Bourne
WR - (vs . SEA)
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493.
Mac Jones
QB - (vs . SEA)
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529.
Luke Farrell
TE - (vs . SEA)
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