2016 Fantasy Football Team Preview: San Francisco 49ers

 

2015 Fantasy Recap

The 49ers were a mess in 2015. The post-Harbaugh era did not go as planned. The once dominant Super-Bowl contenders became bottom feeders just trying not to finish last in the division they once dominated. They were equally bad in the world of fantasy. Anytime your two best fantasy players are Blaine Gabbert and Shaun Draughn, you know you had a dismal season. Their receiving core was made up of 100-year-old Anquan Boldin, one-trick-pony Torrey Smith and a bunch of draft busts from the last few years. Vernon Davis never returned to his Pro Bowl form and was eventually traded to the Denver Broncos and his replacements aren’t even worth mentioning… truth be told, I can’t even remember their names and I don’t feel like looking them up because they aren’t fantasy relevant. Did I mention I’m a 49ers fan…

Key Additions and Losses

Additions:

• HC Chip Kelly

Losses:

• Anquan Boldin* (could re-sign with the team)
• Vernon Davis

QuarterBack Fantasy Outlook

At the time this article is being written, the 49ers have no idea who their starting QB is. Colin Kaepernick was just cleared for practice and will now compete with incumbent starter Blaine Gabbert for the right to lead this team into 2016. On paper, the Chip Kelly and Colin Kaepernick marriage looks like a match made in heaven, but it’s off to a rocky start. 

First, after the hiring of Chip Kelly, Kaepernick tells the media he’d like to play for the New York Jets. Then there is the news that Kaep is all but traded to the Denver Broncos, but he refuses to sign a deal with the Broncos who were trying to pay him substantially less money than what he stands to make as a 49er. It doesn’t get any uglier than this. A QB that doesn’t want to be with the team and a team that clearly wants to move on from the QB, but yet both are stuck with each other.

And in the middle of all this is Blaine Gabbert the former first-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gabbert resurrected his career in San Francisco in 2015 and actually looked like a competent signal caller more often than not, but fantasy relevant he is not. The wild card in this equation is Chip Kelly, who has turned mediocre QBs into decent starters during his tenure with the Eagles. Nick Foles had his best season under Kelly and is still reaping the benefits from that a few years later as the backup QB in LA. And then there is Mark Sanchez who would probably be out of the league if not for the half a season he had under Kelly when filling in for an injured Nick Foles.

The QB situation in the Bay is one to avoid in fantasy, and even if we knew who the starter was, I would still avoid him in my fantasy drafts.

Grade: F- (is F- even a real grade?)

 Running Back Fantasy Outlook

The running back position is the only position that I’m even semi-excited about for 2016. Carlos Hyde got everyone excited with his Week 1 performance in 2015, especially when he did this: CLICK. Unfortunately, the rest of the season did not go quite as well, as he suffered a foot injury and was eventually shut down for the season.

Coming into 2016 he is the unquestioned No. 1 option in this offense, and the narrative could go in one of two ways, either 1) He is the best offensive weapon and will get a ton of touches and plenty of chances to be fantasy relevant, or 2) He is the best offensive weapon and the defense knows that. They stack the box and force the QB (whoever that might be) to beat them.

The other downside for Hyde is the division he plays in that has three top defenses in the Cardinals, Seahawks and Rams. On the flip side, he faces a lot of weak defenses outside of the division. They play the NFC South, which, excluding the Panthers, don’t really have any great defenses (Bucs, Saints, Falcons). They also see the Patriots, Dolphins, Bills and Cowboys, who all have potentially good defenses, but weren’t very good last year. If Hyde can stay healthy, and that’s a big if, he has top 10 potential.

Behind Hyde there isn’t much. They drafted an RB in the 2016 Draft, but not much is known about him this early into the offseason. If Hyde is unable to stay healthy there are no other fantasy options on this team that I’m interested in…. but I guess there is always Shaun Draughn.

Grade: B

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlook

The 49ers have boasted one of the most uninspiring corps of fantasy wide receivers for years. Anquan Boldin was the closest thing they’ve had to fantasy relevancy since…well, Terrel Owens. I know, Michael Crabtree had a decent season awhile back, but no one really got that excited about it — and it wasn’t that good anyway.

They go into 2016 with maybe the worst group of receivers in the entire NFL. Torrey Smith is a boom or bust big play threat but offers no consistency. Recent draft picks Bruce Arrington and Quinton Patton have yet to show much of anything at the Pro level, and the couple WR rookies they drafted won’t make much of an impact in year one.

All in all, this passing offense is going to be bad, maybe historically so, and I wouldn’t draft a single one for my fantasy squad. I have kickers with higher rankings then the WRs from San Francisco.

Grade: F- 

Tight End Fantasy Outlook

Another Fantasy irrelevant position for the 49er’s, as there is little to talk about here at the tight end position. Vance McDonald hasn’t shown anything since coming into the league and Garrett Celek is nothing to get excited about. The only tight end I would consider drafting if I was in a dynasty league, or  in a very deep league, is Blake Bell. He had a few flashes in 2015 that showed what his potential could be, including a 48-yard catch and run verse the Cardinals in Week 10.

I wouldn’t draft him as much more than a true flyer because even if he has all the talent in the world, he is still going to need a QB to throw him the ball.

Grade: F-

Defensive Fantasy Outlook

The defensive outlook is a little more interesting than you might think. Yes, they weren’t very good last year, but they did have some games in which they weren’t half bad. They were actually quite good at times when they were playing at home, holding the Packers to 17, the Seahawks to 20, and the Cardinals to 19 — all home games. They spent a ton of draft picks on the defense in the draft, including first-rounder DeForest Buckner from Oregon, and all signs point to him as an impact player at the next level.

I don’t expect them to be anything near what they were under Jim Harbaugh, and I don’t even think they should be drafted as a starting defense, but as a bye-week fill-in or as a week to week streamer, they could be fantasy viable.

Grade: C

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