2025 Team Previews: San Francisco 49ers
All ADP data is courtesy of Fantasy Pros.
** = target in drafts at this ADP
Relevant Players
**Christian McCaffrey, RB (ADP: 10, RB5): McCaffrey burned people badly last season. He was usually a Top 3 pick, if not No. 1 overall, and he only managed to play in four games all season. This all-world, completely dominant fantasy force for the previous two seasons is now thrust back in time to when he was an exciting RB, but someone that managers were very wary of due to injury risk. Well, he hasn’t gotten any bigger, he has gotten older, so there’s no doubt risk in taking him where you have to take him. I say, are you trying to be safe, or are you trying to win?
There’s no world where CMC isn’t a Top 5 overall skill player in 2024 if he plays all 17 games. This is probably the best all-around RB in the NFL, and he’s in an offense that is not only designed for him to thrive, he should be leaned on even more heavily with WR Deebo Samuel gone, fellow WR Brandon Aiyuk recovering from a severe knee injury, and the remaining skill players outside of TE George Kittle unproven as key contributors. CMC has all the skills, the volume, the offense and he’s the centerpiece of what projects to be a division winning team. If he’s there at No. 7, congratulations.
George Kittle, TE (ADP: 36, TE3): I have been pro-Kittle for a while, treating him like an upper echelon TE despite the up-and-down nature of his seasons and not like he was a notch below. That paid off last season, and now Kittle is being drafted as a Top 3 TE. We’ve long known that Kittle had this in him, and that he wasn’t regularly performing like a Travis Kelce due to the 49ers’ offense being chock full of similarly talented skill players, and Kittle being a devastating force as a blocker too. When needed, however, the passing game can revolve around him and it did in 2024. That should continue in 2025, with Samuel gone, Aiyuk’s return timetable unclear, and WRs that have never carried a passing game before.
We just watched Kittle have arguably the best season of his eight-year career, and it came during a campaign in which just about everything went wrong for the 49ers. He’s going to be leaned on again, and he’s got a real shot at TE1. There could actually be value here still, even though his ADP is up significantly from this time last summer.
Jauan Jennings, WR (ADP: 93, WR43): Jennings was one of 2024’s most out-of-nowhere major contributors, because when I wrote San Fran’s 2024 preview he had no ADP at all. My comment was brief: “Jennings has never had monster stats, but he is a quality receiver hiding in plain sight. He ranked as PFFs No. 37 WR, not too shabby, and he did score five touchdowns on just 24 receptions as a rookie. A lot has to happen for Jennings to really get a crack at enough snaps to be fantasy relevant, but if he did get that opportunity, I believe he could be a FLEX option.”
Well, a lot happened. Aiyuk got hurt, Samuel went in the tank, Christian McCaffery got injured, and rookie WR Ricky Pearsall’s development was stalled due to getting shot in the chest in the offseason. Jennings had to step up and he did, posting 77 receptions, 975 yards and six touchdowns and finishing as PFF’s No. 14 WR. Now he’s positioned to be a focal point of this passing game, and even though I don’t believe Jennings to have a ton more ceiling than he showed in his breakout, this ADP is building in that doubt. At this ADP, it’s difficult to see how drafting Jennings really harms a roster, and how much value he brings really depends on how a manager has constructed the team. If you’re a manager who drafts very safe at the top, then around here you probably are aiming for more ceiling than Jennings has. If you’ve drafted high variance receivers to this point, Jennings makes sense as a steady and predictable contributor who raises the floor.
**Ricky Pearsall, WR (ADP: 102, WR45): Pearsall figures to have a major opportunity to be an impact player in 2025 with Samuel gone from the offense and Aiyuk likely to miss a lot of time. He was a first round receiver last year, and the writing was on the wall that the 49ers had big plans for him in the near future given the impending departure of Samuel or Aiyuk. With both now likely out of the picture for at least the early part of 2025, Pearsall’s time to shine has arrived.
The stats – 31 receptions, 400 yards, three touchdowns – don’t tell us anything. Pearsall’s rookie year was derailed before it began thanks to an injury and then a shooting. He was behind the 8-ball from the outset, and the Kyle Shanahan offense isn’t exactly plug and play. We lean on Reception Perception to do God’s work and let us know what we saw as a rookie, and it was promising. He came into the league with a reputation for separating, and he did. He posted an 82.7% success rate vs. zone, good for the 83rd percentile and a really great sign that he can fill the shoes of Samuel. Pearsall isn’t going to bring the unique rushing dynamic Deebo did, but that’s one-of-a-kind talent, and Shanahan can replicate that yardage by maximizing Pearsall’s talents in a more traditional way. Pearsall’s not just a slot guy though, as his man success rate (69.7%, 58th percentile) was pretty damn good for a rookie recovering from a gunshot, and his press success (75%, 76th percentile) was downright stellar.
It would be a little nerve wracking to rely on a second-year receiver who made four starts to be a key cog of your fantasy lineup, but his ADP more than builds in downside. Pearsall had some serious splash games, most notably in Week 17 when he tore up Detroit fir eight catches, 141 yards and a touchdown. We saw him post some gaudy stats at times, we know that the 49ers offense is well designed, and he’s set up for a major role in it. I’m seeing value. I’m more excited about Pearsall than Jennings, and he’s going a wee bit later.
Brock Purdy, QB (ADP: 112, QB11): Purdy’s a funny case, because I like the offense, I’m bullish on Jennings, Pearsall and Kittle, so I should be all in on Purdy right? And yet, I’m feeling squeamish. We have seen Purdy put up the benchmark numbers for a successful season-long pass-first QB in 2023 when he racked up 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns. We saw things fall apart last season, and Purdy still throw for 3,864 yards while missing two games. For Purdy, how you project his TD rate will determine whether he’s a season-long starter for you, or a streamer. In two of his three seasons, his TD% was over seven percent. If he does that, then he’ll turn into a value. If you think it’ll be like last year’s 4.4%, more like the league average, then he’s a streamer.
I can see Purdy’s TD rate improving from the 2024 mark; so much went wrong last season, and he is a quality passer. But he’s also down his top two WRs from a year ago, and replacing them with guys who haven’t been relied upon before as top guys. He’ll also have Christian McCaffery back potentially monopolizing TD opportunities on the ground. I think this ADP is fine, and it can return value, but there are players going two to three rounds later I like at least as much, so I won’t be pulling the trigger on Purdy here.
Interesting Sleeper(s)
Brandon Aiyuk, WR (ADP: 113, WR47): Aiyuk was finally being treated as an elite fantasy WR last season around this time, and then had a disastrous start to the season before tearing his ACL. After finally establishing himself as a top guy and receiving that recognition, we saw him revert to the early, frustrating days of his career in the coaches’ doghouse. Before getting hurt, Aiyuk had one game with more than 50 yards in 2024, and now we’re having to draft him coming off a serious injury, knowing that being unusable is still in his range of outcomes without the bum knee.
I am a full believer in Aiyuk’s talent when I’m sure he is healthy, but I don’t believe we’ll even see him on the field until at least the midpoint of this season, in which case he probably will have to work his way into game shape. I’m not going to go near him this year, even as a stash for the late season stages. Out of respect for his capabilities though, he still has to be considered interesting at this ADP in leagues with multiple IR spots.
Notable Players
Jacob Cowing, WR (ADP: 311, WR116): Cowings had a little buzz last summer, and ended up doing absolutely nothing of note as a rookie even with Aiyuk and Samuel on the struggle bus and CMC on the shelf. I don’t see a world or fantasy format where he’s drafted, but with the depth chart certainly more in flux than it was this time last year, he is notable.
Jordan Watkins, WR (ADP: N/A): Watkins is built just like Cowing, and is notable for the same reasons Cowing is. This offense has lost it’s top two WRs, and there can be opportunities for him if he’s really making splashes in the summer and preseason.
Handcuffs
Isaac Guerendo, RB (ADP: 133, RB45): Guerendo is the latest in a line of talented 49ers backup RBs that would be awesome with a full workload, and who we’ll be excited about based on McCaffrey’s injury history. Guerendo is a hulking RB, but despite his size he’s actually a speed demon. That’s a scary combination, especially in an offense that highlights the RB, and we saw his potential briefly in 2024 in flashes.
The physical tools are phenomenal, but there are warts. Guerendo is over reliant on his speed and can miss holes or fail to maximize plays because he’s always trying to burn it to the outside. Guerendo is also a massive injury risk, despite being built like a Sentinel. With that said, CMC managers should prioritize Guerendo because he should be the clear handcuff based on his success in 2024 when given opportunity.
Jordan James, RB (ADP: 272, RB75): James can’t be dismissed out of hand as the potential backup to CMC, because he was insanely productive at Oregon. 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns on 233 carries is bell cow stuff, and Guerendo’s fragility means if CMC got hurt this could end up being a committee. The edge goes to Guerendo as the incumbent, but James is good and will produce if given a chance.