Hey Nerds! The 2024 NFL season is almost upon us, and @dynastydadmike is back to cover the San Francisco 49ers in the Dynasty Nerds Fantasy Forecast series!
The San Francisco 49ers finished 12-5, winning the NFC West division title. San Francisco advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the fourth time in five seasons. After defeating the Lions in the NFC Championship, San Francisco battled the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl LIV. Unfortunately, just like their previous matchup, Kansas City defeated the 49ers to win Super Bowl LVIII.
In this article, we will highlight some key roster additions and subtractions and how those moves affect the 49ers’ 2024 NFL season.
Quarterback
Easily solidified as a Top-12 quarterback, Brock Purdy goes into 2024 looking to improve on his QB6 overall finish from 2023. Purdy passed for 4,280 yards along with 31 touchdown passes. He had 7 games where he finished inside the top 12 for fantasy points. Of those seven finishes, two of them were QB2 overall finishes. Purdy has led the San Francisco 49ers to two NFC Championship Games in his first two seasons, successfully reaching the Super Bowl last season. He is in line for a big payday after seeing the massive contract extensions signed by Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, and Jordan Love.
In the most recent Dynasty Nerds ranks, Purdy is going off the board as QB12. That screams a buy to me, and judging by some of the recent trades in the Dynasty GM Trade Browser, the Nerd Herd agrees. Here are some recent trades found on the Dynasty GM involving Purdy.
Running Backs
San Francisco boasted the third-ranked rushing offense in the NFL last year with 2,389 rushing yards. Christian McCaffrey accounted for 61 percent of those yards, finishing with a career-high 1,459 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. He was also a threat in the receiving game with 63 receptions, 564 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns.
Father time will eventually come for the 28-year-old running back, but I don’t see that happening this year. McCaffrey is primed to produce similar numbers and should be viewed as a favorite to finish as the no. 1 RB I fantasy. Since joining the 49ers, he has an RB2 and RB1 overall finish on his resume. Unless you are a rebuilding team, McCaffrey’s age shouldn’t scare you away from being on your dynasty roster.
The handcuff job on the San Francisco 49ers appears to be Elijah Mitchell’s to lose. Based on early training camp reports, Mitchell has the inside edge as the team’s RB2. A name to watch is rookie running back Isaac Guerendo. The Niners traded up in the fourth round to select him, and even though he is an older running back, his low carry total in college could yield positive results.
Isaac Guerendo is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, and I would try to grab him in the fifth round of your rookie drafts or send a late pick for him. While he won’t have an instant impact, he could be the future handcuff for McCaffrey pending his return from injury.
I was impressed with Cody Schrader’s college tape. However, he was an undrafted free agent with nearly 1,000 carries on his rapidly approaching 25-year-old body. He is essentially competing with Jordan Mason and may not make the 53-man roster, but he would make a great taxi stash.
Wide Receivers
As of the publication of this article, Brandon Aiyuk is still a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Aiyuk has requested a trade and is currently sitting out of training camp activities for a new contract (and rightfully so). Aiyuk is coming off of back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, including a career-high 1,342 receiving yards in 2023. Aiyuk is a contending candidate for negative regression, and I view him as a sell-high player due to the abundance of riches the Niners have as receiving options.
One of those receiving options is Tyshun Samuel or “Deebo,” as most NFL fans know him. While Deebo did have a career year in receiving touchdowns, his stat line of 60/892/7 doesn’t seem that impressive. However, one element of Deebo’s game that does give some fantasy appeal is his rushing ability. He rushed for 225 yards and added another 5 touchdowns on the ground. If Aiyuk is moved, look for Deebo to receive the largest benefits.
The receiver most affected by Aiyuk’s status will be rookie Ricky Pearsall. Clearly, the San Francisco 49ers have plans for Pearsall as he was selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but his immediate impact will depend on Aiyuk. Regardless of the Aiyuk situation, Pearsall is an incredible talent and will be a force for years to come on this San Francisco team. If you have not had your rookie drafts, I would be targeting Pearsall in the second round.
A few other names that I would stash at the end of your rosters would be Jauan Jennings, who quietly received a 2-year, $15 million extension with the team, and rookie wide receiver Jacob Cowing. Cowing is a smaller slot option with crisp route running and a yards-after-the-catch (YAC) game that Kyle Shanahan could scheme into some fantasy potential.
Tight Ends
For the past seven years, when you think of the San Francisco 49ers tight end position, the first name that pops into your mind is George Kittle. He is coming off of his first 1,000-yard receiving season since 2019. Unfortunately, Kittle comes with a little inconsistency in his play through no fault of his own. He did have 9 top-12 finishes and finished as the overall TE1 in 3 of them. He also had seven finishes where he was TE26, TE22, TE45, TE51, TE26, TE22, and TE27.
Don’t get me wrong—Kittle is one of my favorite NFL players due to his personality and physical play. I just would like a little more consistency from my tight end, and I don’t enjoy the boom-or-bust element that comes with being a Kittle manager.
I am not interested outside of Kittle in the tight end room with names like Logan Thomas and Cameron Latu competing for the backup position. Latu will be the younger option of the two as he will be going into his second season in the NFL after the San Francisco 49ers took him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, while 33-year-old Thomas will be joining his seventh NFL team after signing with the Niners in the offseason.
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