Knowledge is power and the greatest asset you can acquire in order to compete for a fantasy football championship.
Here’s your 2023 preview of the San Francisco 49ers, the seventh of 32 team profiles during draft season:
2023 Fantasy MVP: Christian McCaffrey, RB
If you extrapolate McCaffrey’s (ADP: 2) final 10 games of the 2022 regular season over a complete campaign with the 49ers, you end up with 1,952 total yards, 85 receptions and 17 total touchdowns. That’s 2018-2019 CMC, which means he’s still at the peak of his powers and now playing in an offense designed specifically to take advantage of his skills. There are durability concerns, but Kyle Shanahan has a stable of young running backs who will “spell” McCaffrey in order to keep him fresh and the wear-and-tear to a minimum.
2023 Fantasy Sleeper: Brandon Aiyuk, WR
Aiyuk (ADP: 71) was the overall WR9 in standard formats (WR10 in PPR) starting in Week 6 last season. He had clear chemistry with Brock Purdy down the stretch, leading San Francisco in targets (40), receptions (27) and yards (363) the final six regular season games of 2022. He’s currently being drafted as the overall WR28.
2023 Fantasy Bust: George Kittle, TE
I don’t believe Kittle (ADP: 51) will have a bad season. If he stays healthy, he’s likely good for around a thousand yards and a half-dozen TDs. This is more about my “Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews or wait” strategy at the position in 2023. If you draft Kelce, you’re likely doing it in the first round. Andrews will likely cost you a third-rounder, but I believe the new offense in Baltimore could unlock a career-season. Kittle (and the other second-tier fantasy tight ends) will be drafted in the middle rounds, where all the upside resides at wide receiver, running back and quarterback. I’d rather wait at tight end and load up on the upside.
2023 Fantasy Rookie to watch: Jake Moody, K
Moody (ADP: 232) has had a roller-coaster ride recently with the 49ers. The news out of training camp was almost glowing, but then he missed two kicks in the first preseason game against the Raiders. However, he just hit a walk-off against the Broncos. The reason to pay attention is Kyle Shanahan’s offenses tend to be kicker-friendly, just don’t draft him in the third round like GM John Lynch did.
