49ers Fantasy Football Outlook with Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason Now on Injured Reserve | Outlooks for Brock Purdy, Isaac Guerendo, Deebo Samuel, Ricky Pearsall and More

The San Francisco 49ers season has not gone according to plan. Through 13 weeks, the team sits at just 5-7, which is last place in a pretty average NFC West.

There’s still time for the team to get things rolling before the playoffs, but the team’s postseason chances took a major hit when running backs Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason were placed on injured reserve on Monday.

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Season Stats

McCaffrey only played in four games this season, and that looks like it’ll be it for him, as his injury is viewed as a six-week one. He definitely looks like he’ll be out for the regular season, so he can be dropped, especially if you do not play in week 18 (when the backs are eligible to return).

Mason could also be dropped if your league’s championship is in week 17. Of course, these backs are only droppable in redraft leagues - both still have a ton of value in keeper or dynasty leagues.

In McCaffrey’s four games, he rushed for 202 yards on 50 carries. He had 146 receiving yards on 15 receptions and 19 targets.

Mason was a great fill-in for CMC early in the season. In 12 games and six starts, Mason had 789 yards and three scores on 153 attempts. He added 91 receiving yards on 11 catches and 14 targets.

Obviously, teams can only have so many good running backs, and the Niners are running out of them quickly.

Niners' Backfield Outlook

The only other running back on the San Francisco active roster is Isaac Guerendo. He’s a first-year player who has flashed potential in his limited opportunities.

Guerendo has 246 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 42 attempts. He’s caught five of his six targets for an additional 19 yards.

Patrick Taylor is another option on the practice squad. He’s in his fourth NFL season, and first year with the Niners.

Across eight games, Taylor has rushed for 25 yards on seven carries. He caught his lone target for 12 yards.

The Niners will undoubtedly add another running back or two over the course of the week. Until then though, all we can do is speculate about the players on the roster.

If I had to guess, Guerendo and Taylor are going to split the backfield going forward. Guerendo is likely to be the main back, but I wouldn’t expect him to be a workhorse by any means. I’d only expect Taylor to get a few touches a week.

There’s a chance the back(s) the Niners add factor in a decent amount, but I also could see a route in which the added back(s) are just there for depth.

That’s because Deebo Samuel Sr. could be used more as a ball carrier.

This season, Samuel has only gotten 27 carries. He was more involved as a runner before McCaffrey got established in San Fran. Samuel had 59 carries in 2021, 42 in 2022 and 37 in 2023.

Samuel hasn’t been as involved as many expected as a pass catcher this season, so maybe this is a way to get Samuel going more. I wouldn’t expect Samuel to be given a ton of carries, but getting between 5-8 a week could be something the Niners possibly do.

Other Niners’ Outlooks

Not having McCaffrey or Mason could also affect the team’s passing game, as less defensive focus needs to go on the running game now.

I think this will help Brock Purdy a bit as a fantasy asset. Fantasy owners might have to play matchups a bit more with the QB going forward, although volume passing stats should end up helping Purdy in the end.

I see Samuel, Jauan Jennings, George Kittle and Ricky Pearsall being a bit better fantasy assets moving forward. Again, I think a few more passes a game will help the pass catchers out, but I don’t think it will noticeably affect any of them. 

Kittle has been the only must-start player of the pass catchers, and the injuries shouldn’t change that. Jennings and Samuel were both above-average starting options, and fantasy owners should be a bit more confident in them going forward. If Samuel ends up helping out more in the running game, I think Pearsall could become a better flex-level option every week, although I’d need to see it before adding him and playing him.

As the week progresses and roster moves are made, we’ll get a better idea on what to expect for the Niners’ offensive players going into week 14. Check back to FantasySP for start/sit stories!