Preseason - 2021 San Francisco 49ers Outlook

RB Wayne Gallman, --- - Deep-league Only

An injury to Saquon Barkley led to Gallman having the best opportunity of his career in 2020. He gained 796 combined yards with six touchdowns and 21 catches over 15 games. His best two games came in Week 12 (91 combined yards with one touchdown and three catches) and Week 13 (16/135).

WR Deebo Samuel, SF - Solid/Safe Pick

The wide receiver opportunity in San Francisco set a three-year high in catches (182), receiving yards (2,336), and targets (281) in 2020, but their wideouts gained only 54 percent of the 49ers' passing yards with 49.1 percent of the team's completions. Injuries at quarterback and wide receiver were part of the issue. San Fran also has one of the top tight ends in the league, paired with a high-volume run game which should lead to fewer pass attempts.

Deebo Samuel

In 2019, the star of Samuel rose in Week 10 (8/112) with follow through the next game (8/134). Over his final 11 games, including the playoffs, he caught 45 of his 67 targets for 926 combined yards and four touchdowns. Samuel had surprising value as a runner (15/224/2). His catch rate (70.4) commands more looks despite having eight drops.

Last year, he missed time over three parts of the season. His year started with a foot injury that cost him the first three weeks. From Week 4 to Week 8, Samuel caught 16 of his 22 targets for 185 yards and one touchdown, with one productive showing (6/66/1).

A hamstring issue in Week 7 led to another missed three weeks. After the bye week, Samuel dominated the Rams (11/133 on 13 targets) with an active showing in Week 13 (6/76). Unfortunately, his year ended in Week 14 after one play due to reaggravating his hamstring issue.

Fantasy Outlook: This draft season, there are many moving parts when determining the passing opportunity for the 49ers. If Trey Lance starts a good portion of the season, I would expect San Fran to throw the ball closer to 30 to 32 times a game. However, with Jimmy Garoppolo behind center, their passing attempts could push over 37 a game. Samuel has shown enough where 80-plus catches with over 1,200 combined yards and double-digit scores are in the realm of possibility. His ADP (92) paints him as a backend WR3 based on ranking (37th wide receiver drafted) in early July. I'm putting him in the buy category.

WR Brandon Aiyuk, SF - Solid/Safe Pick

Despite missing four games in his rookie season, Aiyuk flashed promising upside, highlighted by a six-game run midseason (6/115, 8/91/1, 7/75/1, 5/95/1, 10/119, and 9/73/1). Over this span, he delivered WR1 stats (45/568/4 on 69 targets) in PPR leagues (20.83 fantasy points per game).

His season started with a hamstring issue and one missed game. The 49ers barely looked his way over the next five weeks (25 targets), leading to 14 catches for 165 yards and one touchdown.

A Covid issue led him sitting out Week 9 and Week 12. Then, Aiyuk suffered an ankle injury in late December, leading to another missed game.

After the snap, Aiyuk creates an edge on slants while also showcasing the wheels to make plays in the deep passing game. His route running projects well while having open field ability. He does need to get stronger to help his release when pressed at the line of scrimmage. I expect his best success to come over the first 20 yards when moving forward. Aiyuk needs to improve on his breaks to the sidelines and work back to the quarterback. His speed (4.5 forty) isn't elite for the wide receiver position.

Fantasy Outlook: The injury to Deebo Samuel helped his opportunity in 2020. Aiyuk finished with a respectable catch rate (62.5) with some chances in the run game (6/77/2). In early June, he battled a minor groin issue.I have Aiyuk a notch below Deebo Samuel in expected production (80 catches with 1,100 combined yards and seven to 10 touchdowns.

WR Richie James, NYG - Low Potential

In his third year in the NFL, James finished with 23 catches for 394 yards and one touchdown on 35 targets over 11 games. Almost half of his stats came in Week 9 (9/184/1). Over his other six starts, James only had 11 catches for 177 yards on 19 targets.

WR Jalen Hurd, --- - Not Draft Worthy

Over his first two seasons at Tennessee in college, Hurd gained 2,595 combined yards with 21 touchdowns and 57 catches on 524 touches as running back.

After a concussion in 2016, he struggled to make plays (532 combined yards with three scores and 10 catches on 132 touches). He asked to switch to WR, but the Volunteers declined, which led to a transfer to Baylor and a missed season.

Hurd played well in his first season at wide receiver in 2018 (69/946/4) while adding some value running the ball (48/209/3). Unfortunately, his season ended with minor knee surgery in December.

His size (6'5" and 225 lbs.) gives him an edge in the red zone, but he needs more time to develop his wide receiving skills.

Hurd missed all of 2019 with a season-long battle with a back issue. Then, a torn ACL in his right knee last August led to another missed season.

Other Options: Trent Sherfield, Mohamed Sanu, Travis Benjamin

TE George Kittle, SF - Stud (low risk)

Even with George Kittle missing half of last season, the 49ers still finished with plenty of production (96/1,172/7) from the tight ends. Over the past three years, their floor has been 95 catches and seven touchdowns with over 130 targets.

George Kittle

Over his eight starts in 2020, Kittle caught 48 of his 63 targets for 634 yards and two touchdowns, putting him on pace to match or beat his previous two years (88/1,377/5 and 85/1,053/5). His catch rate (76.2) remains elite.

After quiet Week 1 (4/44), Kittle missed two games with a knee injury. He posted a monster outing in Week 4 (15/183/1) with a high level of success (7/109/1) two games later. Unfortunately, a broken bone in his right foot cost him six more weeks. His season ended with two steady showings (4/92 and 7/68).

Fantasy Outlook: Kittle has beast upside, but game flow can work against his opportunity in some weeks when the 49ers play from the lead and run the ball well. Kittle needs to unlock his scoring ceiling to push closer to Travis Kelce in tight end fantasy scoring. His ADP (31) requires 90-plus catches for 1,100 yards with a minimum of eight scores to pay off. I'm excited about the 49ers' offense in 2021, meaning Kittle has an even higher ceiling this season.

Other Options: Ros Dwelley, McCole Pruitt, Charlie Woerner