Saturday, January 17
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks 8:00 p.m. EST
These two teams met just a few weeks ago, with home-fieldadvantage on the line. We saw a low-scoring game dominated by the Seahawks defense. Will we see a repeat, or will there be more scoring? I have a hunch the score will go over the Vegas 45 total, which gives this game a bit of appeal for me, especiallyif we are playing only the Saturday slate.
I made the mistake of fading RB Christian McCaffrey last week. It looked suitable for 50 minutes, but then he scored two touchdowns in the 4th quarter, making him a must-have player. I know he didn’t have great success in their last matchup, but he was close to the end zone, and he should get a ton more volume with TE George Kittle out. I’m not going all in on CMC, but he will make up half of my main slate lineups and 75% of my Saturday-only lineups.
It’s going to be tough to pass to the receivers because of Seattle’s pass rush and pass defense. Which means I’m out on QB Brock Purdy, but he can get the ball to TE Jake Tonges, making him a viable start at his price. Many might try to chase the points and roster WR Demarcus Robinson, but I’m going to fade along with the rest of the receivers.
The last time these teams met, the 49ers gave up 17-plus fantasy points to both running backs Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker. I think both could be viable again, but I prefer Charbonnet because he’s getting the red zone work and scoring the touchdowns. He has scored touchdowns in three straight games and has scored in all but one of his home games.
Last time we saw Sam Darnold in the playoffs, he laid an egg, but he was under a lot of duress against an excellent defense. He should have an easier time this week, especially if they can run the football. Of course, the main target will be WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but JSN hasn’t put up big numbers of late. He still gets the targets, but he’s not getting touchdown scoring in only four games. Still, he must make half of my lineups on volume alone, because if he does score, he becomes a player you need to have.
Can anybody else step up? WR Cooper Kupp is popping in the DFS hero Simulator as they are predicting him to have a 45% chance to be in the winning lineups, but I really don’t trust it. I have a sneaky suspicion WR Rashid Shaheed could pop a big one, as he had chances in their last game, but he was overthrown. In a short slate, it would just take a few catches and a big bomb for him to make the winning lineups. TE AJ Barner is also a player of interest, as he should get volume, and the optimizer likes him as well. I know Darnold left practice on Thursday with an oblique injury, but that isn’t going to stop me from playing him. His 25% projected ownership may, but his injury will not.
In conclusion, I’m going to have many parts of the Seattle offense focusing on JSN and Charbonnet, while Kupp will make a few lineups, and Shaheed will be in a few sleeper lineups. I’ll bring it back with CMC and Tonges from the 49ers and hope for a much higher scoring game than last time.
