2022 Pre-Draft Fantasy Football Outlook: San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers showed that they were capable of getting far into the playoffs this past season but ultimately were not able to get into the Super Bowl. The real question is if the 49ers were just a QB away from being able to get back to the Super Bowl, and we may just find that out in 2022. For now, I will pretend that everything is the same by the time the upcoming season begins. The following is the pre-draft fantasy football outlook for theSan Francisco 49ers:
Quarterback
Probably the most exciting position for the 49ers is the quarterback position heading into the 2022 season. Jimmy G was an alright QB but as we have seen he was not good enough to get the Niners into the Super Bowl this past year. The good thing is that Jimmy is most likely going to be traded in the off-season and the Niners have Trey Lance on the back burner waiting to come out fresh in 2022. Lance is highly touted especially in fantasy circles and most believe he will offer a massive ceiling right off the bat. Lance is known not only for his arm but also his running ability, which is what every fantasy manager likes to hear about their starting QB. We will have to wait and see what happens in the draft/free agency for the 49ers to know exactly what the landscape will look like for Lance in his first year. Regardless Lance comes into a great situation with massive amounts of talent surrounding him. He is a low-end QB1 with immense upside in 2022.
Running Backs
Running back is always a very interesting position for the 49ers. They are known to use a carousel of running backs and there is never consistency from year to year. The best running back on the team is Elijah Mitchell and for the time being, he should be the RB1 heading into the 2022 season. Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and Trenton Cannon are all free agents, so the team’s two main running backs will be Mitchell and Trey Sermon. The hot hand approach is usually used most often for the Niners which is the only reason I would be hesitant to draft Mitchell in the first 4 rounds of this upcoming year’s fantasy drafts. Right now I see Mitchell as a low-end RB2. Sermon could be added to rosters at the end of the draft as a low-end flex/ handcuff.
Wide Receivers
The wide receiver position did not play out how most had thought it would in 2022. Most had thought that Deebo Samuel’s fantasy ability was gone and that Brandon Aiyuk was the future of the Niners. We were wrong. Aiyuk for whatever reason was put into the doghouse for most of the season and Samuel was a complete stud for the whole 2022 season. Aiyuk looked like he came out of the doghouse at the end of the season but was still not the fantasy contributor that we had wanted. Going into 2022 should be very interesting as we do not know what kind of relationship Trey Lance will have with his wide receivers. The easiest thing to do is assume that they will at least have the same kind of upside as they had with Jimmy G. I believe Lance will give them much more of a higher ceiling on a regular basis than Jimmy ever was able to. That being said, Samuel’s should be a high-end WR1 and Aiyuk will be a solid flex option with upside in 2022.
Tight End
We really don’t have to talk too much about George Kittle, mainly because you know exactly what you’re going to get with him. He is an extremely talented tight end and when he is on the field he is a force to be reckoned with. Kittle has had injury concerns throughout the years but that is not something that makes me hesitant to roster him in fantasy. The tight end position is such a finicky position as is, so any chance at a high ceiling is always worthwhile. Kittle is a high-end TE1 going into 2022.
Defense/Kicker
The 49ers have one of the better defenses in the league and ultimately their defense is what got them as far as they did in 2021. The defense should still continue to be in the top 10 at the very least heading into the 2022 season as they are not losing any major components in free agency that they could not replace. The 49ers should be a solid defense in 2022 and will be one of the top 5 taken in drafts this upcoming year.
When it comes to the kicker position the truth is that you either want a really good offense or an average/ subpar offense. The reason being is that a really good offense scores early and often which is good for the kicker position. On the other hand, an average or sub-par offense doesn’t make it to the end zone too often but should be able to make it into field goal range enough for their kicker to have success. Gould was not the best option in 2021 but I feel things could significantly change going into 2022. A new QB, solid RBs, great WRs, and a great TE should give the Niners plenty of upside on the offensive side of the ball. I like Gould’s chances at taking advantage of that upside. If you miss out on the top-tier options, take Gould in the last round and roll the dice on the Niners success in 2022.
