49ers Fantasy Football Outlook for Week 5: Mac Jones, Jake Tonges and More

Week 5 of the NFL regular season opens with a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams.

Let's break down each team's best fantasy assets, starting with the 49ers. Check back later for the Rams' writeup.

Having trouble deciding who to start in week 5? Let the FantasySP start/sit tool help you make a decision.

Mac Jones Fantasy Outlook

Brock Purdy is out with a toe injury again, so Jones will make another start.

Jones is 2-0 in his starts so far this season. He's completed 66.3% of his passes for 563 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception. Jones has rushed for five yards on seven attempts.

He had 279 passing yards against the Saints and then 284 yards against the Cardinals. Three of Jones' touchdown passes came in the win over New Orleans.

The Rams are a tough matchup for Jones. LA is a top-10 defense when it comes to slowing fantasy QBs.

I have not ranked quarterbacks yet for week 5, but you can expect Jones to be in the 20s somewhere - remember, four teams are on byes, so he's not a very good fantasy asset in my eyes.

He's also going to have less offensive playmakers around him, as we'll get into later. Jones is just a starting option in deeper leagues, and I'd try to stay away from him if I could.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Christian McCaffrey is the workhorse back for the Niners. With some of the team's other injuries, I could see Brian Robinson being a bit more involved tonight.

CMC has played 228 offensive snaps through four games, getting 100 touches in that timeframe. He's rushed 69 times for 225 yards and no scores. McCaffrey has 305 receiving yards and two scores on 31 receptions and 43 targets.

You can expect CMC to be heavily involved tonight again. On a short week though, I wouldn't be surprised to see Robinson pretty involved too.

Robinson has played 50 snaps, getting 24 touches overall. He's rushed 22 times for 96 yards and no scores, while catching two of his three targets for three yards and no scores.

The two backs have the hardest fantasy matchup a RB could have. LA has been stout against RBs so far. 

McCaffrey is still projected for 19 PPR points in week 5, which is tied for the third-highest mark in our system. Robinson is set for four PPR points.

I have CMC as the No. 2 fantasy back for week 5, while Robinson didn't crack my top 30.

On volume alone, CMC should always be a good fantasy asset - I'm starting him every week. Robinson would be a sneaky good starting option if the matchup wasn't this tough - that tough test has me against starting him in week 5, outside really deep leagues.

Wide Receiver Fantasy Outlooks

Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are two big-name wideouts who are out as well for the Niners. Jordan Watkins will also miss the game.

That leaves Kendrick Bourne, Skyy Moore, Demarcus Robinson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling as wide receivers from the active roster for tonight's game. Malik Turner, Russell Gage Jr. and Junior Bergen are all on the practice squad.

Of the available players for tonight, Bourne has played the most snaps (126) - Pearsall led the team with 227 snaps, while Jennings was at 160. Bourne has eight receptions on 13 targets for 87 yards and no scores.

Valdes-Scantling has played 53 offensive snaps so far, catching one of his two targets for nine yards. Moore has a 10-yard catch across two targets in his 47 snaps played.

Gage has played 28 snaps, not earning a target though. Robinson played 25 snaps in his first game of the year last week - he had a 20-yard catch across two targets.

None of these guys are very good fantasy options for tonight, and none of them are near my top-30 WR ranking list. That's unfortunate that Pearsall and Jennings are out, because this is a pretty favorable fantasy matchup for receivers. 

No San Fran receiver even appears on the FSP projection page. It's a guessing game as to who might step up, and that makes them all better deep-league options, but nowhere near standard league usability.

Bourne would be my top fantasy choice for tonight, but again, I'd only want him to start in deeper fantasy leagues. After that, I'd take Robinson. 

After that, you might as well flip a coin on who might factor in. Moore has been more involved than MVS of late, but I'd probably take Valdes-Scantling over Moore. Really, I'd just stay away from everyone after Bourne and Robinson in deeper leagues.

Tight End Fantasy Outlooks

This would be a good game for George Kittle to star in, but he's been on the injured reserve list since week 2. Instead, we'll get Jake Tonges and Luke Farrell for the Niners.

Tonges has played 176 snaps so far, while Farrell is at 147 snaps. Tonges is the better fantasy option, by a good margin.

He's received 16 targets, which is third on the team for now. Tonges has caught 12 of those for 125 yards and two scores.

Farrell has just six targets. He's caught five for 39 yards and a score.

Tonges is coming off his best showing, and with a backup quarterback and the team's top-two wideouts out, Tonges should be pretty involved tonight. He's a sneaky good starting option, because Jones has to throw the ball to someone.

Tonges is a pretty solid starting option in deeper leagues, and it wouldn't be crazy to start him in standard leagues. I had him ranked 22nd going into the week, but would move him inside the top 20 after Jennings and Pearsall were ruled out.

Farrell is an option in really deep leagues, but there has to be a better option available. He could be semi-involved, but I'm not very confident in him, so I'd avoid using him if possible.

It's a pretty average fantasy matchup for the San Fran TEs. Neither guy is on the FSP TE projection page.

Kicker Fantasy Outlook

Eddy Pineiro is the kicker for the Niners after the team let go of Jake Moody after a single game.

Pineiro is perfect on his seven field goal tries and has missed one of his five extra point attempts.

He's projected for seven fantasy points tonight, which is a pretty average mark. The game is projected for just 45 points, but I feel that the Rams might do most of that scoring.

With Jones being out there instead of Purdy, and all the wideouts down, I don't see the Niners finding much offensive success. For that reason, I'd avoid Pineiro outside of deeper fantasy setups.

Defense/Special Teams Fantasy Outlook

The Niners' defense has been pretty good so far this season. The unit has allowed just 1,122 yards and 18.8 points per game. 

San Fran's defense is pretty healthy, but the test will be tough against the Rams' offense.

Our projections don't like the Niners' D/ST, as its projected for just five fantasy points. I too would be against starting them.

Yes, they've been pretty stout this season, but this will pretty easily be the best offensive unit they've faced. I don't see San Fran winning tonight, and I think the Niners' defense will break down eventually and give up a decent amount of points.

I'd still be fine starting the San Fran D/ST in some deeper fantasy setups, but in standard setups, I see them as a below-average option.