Knowledge is power and the greatest asset you can acquire in order to compete for a fantasy football championship.
Here's your 2021 preview of the San Francisco 49ers, the seventh of 32 team profiles leading to draft season:
— 2021 Fantasy MVP: George Kittle, TE
A healthy Kittle (ADP: 26) is almost certain to give you over a thousand yards and at least 80 receptions. What's been missing? Touchdowns. He only has 14 in 53 career games. My Spidey-Sense says he surpasses double-digits for the first time — it's the only way his ADP is justified.
— 2021 Fantasy Rookie to watch: Trey Sermon, RB
It will be a nightmare to figure out the Niners' backfield on a week-to-week basis because Kyle Shanahan is known to utilize the "hot hand" approach. The good news is volume won't be the problem. Shanahan will likely have around 500 carries to divide among a talented group and I expect Sermon (ADP: 91) to be interchangeable with Raheem Mostert (ADP: 59), and be had at a decent discount as well — Mostert has yet to surpass 134 attempts in his career despite his explosiveness.
— 2021 Fantasy Sleeper: Trey Lance, QB
As much as I believe Jimmy Garoppolo (ADP: 296) is capable of quarterbacking this team deep into the playoffs again, it's almost a guarantee the talented Lance (ADP: 149) will start at some point this season. Quarterbacks drafted inside the top three selections have started an average of almost 14 games as rookies since 2010. Lance has flashed his immense talent during the preseason and had a better training camp than Garoppolo. His arm talent plus elite rushing upside would equal fantasy gold in this offense.
— 2021 Fantasy Bust: Brandon Aiyuk, WR
Aiyuk (ADP: 63) is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, which means he will definitely have some big weeks, but I'm concerned the volume won't be there. Especially with a healthy Kittle and Deebo Samuel (ADP: 88) worthy of a healthy target share. It will be difficult for Aiyuk to pay dividends as the WR23 if the Niners aren't bitten by the injury bug once again. I believe Samuel is priced correctly and would rather invest there for him and the former Sun Devil.
