Fantasy Football Player Notes

CeeDee Lamb is having an incredible season. As a result, it makes sense that he had a huge game in the absence of George Pickens against a weak Colts defense. Catching 10 of his 16 targets for 195 yards and a score, Ryan Flournoy was the only other receiver to crack 25 yards, with two receptions for 53 yards. CeeDee is currently leading the league with 108 targets (JSN is second with 99) and is second at the position in receiving yards. With or without Pickens, Lamb's volume has been incredible this year. If Pickens remains sidelined, we saw the type of ceiling Lamb has last week. This week, they face the 49ers who are firing on all cylinders. It's no surprise that this is projected to be the highest-scoring game of the week, as the Cowboys do not have the horses to slow down Brock Purdy. That means Lamb and company will need to find a way to move the ball against the defense, which has the third-fewest yards per game. It's a tough game, but Lamb is locked in the top five receivers every week.

George Pickens should crush this week. Pickens is the WR24 in fantasy points per game this season. He has a 19.5% target share with 2.00 YPRR, six red zone targets, ten deep targets, and a 22.7% first-read share. Pickens has been VERY coverage-sensitive this season, but the good news is this matchup lines up perfectly for him. Since Week 6, the 49ers have utilized single-high at the second-highest rate in the NFL (67.5%). Against single-high, Pickens has had a 33% TPRR and 2.66 YPRR. Over their last five games, the 49ers have ranked 16th in receiving fantasy points per game allowed to perimeter wide receivers while allowing the 14th-most fantasy points per opportunity to the position.

Since Week 3, Ryan Flournoy has had three top-24 finishes in weekly scoring (WR15, WR23, WR23). During that span, Flournoy has had a 12.9% target share with 1.54 YPRR, eight red zone targets, three deep targets, and an 11.7% first-read share. Since Week 6, the 49ers have utilized single-high at the second-highest rate in the NFL (67.5%). Since Week 3, against single-high, Flournoy has had only a 12% TPRR, but he has also had 1.88 YPRR. He has been productive with his opportunities, but this isn't the matchup to consider flexing him. Over their last five games, the 49ers have held slot receivers to the tenth-fewest yards per target and the sixth-fewest fantasy points per opportunity.