Matt Barrows of The Athletic writes the 49ers’ backfield is expected to be led by Raheem Mostert as long as he’s healthy, but Trey Sermon will be involved and could challenge for the No. 1 role.
Fantasy Impact: Mostert has been extremely effective with his opportunities in San Francisco in 2019 and 2020, averaging 5.6 yards per carry (YPC) and 5.0 YPC respectively. The former Boilermaker has also displayed big-play potential, ripping off the two fastest ball carrier speeds of the 2020 season in Weeks 1 and 2. The problem for the journeyman running back has been his availability. He’s approaching 30 years of age and missed eight games last season, which prompted the drafting of Trey Sermon out of Ohio State. The rookie had a successful senior season as a Buckeye, racking up up 870 yards and averaging 7.5 YPC to go along with 12 touchdowns. The 49ers are one of the more run-heavy offenses in the league and that volume will allow both of these runners to be viable fantasy assets. As long as Mostert is healthy, fantasy managers should expect him to lead the charge on a weekly basis, but if he misses time Sermon is the next man up and could run away with the job with a strong showing. This puts fantasy managers in a precarious position when evaluating this backfield. Right now, Mostert is ranked as RB28 and Sermon is all the way down at RB42. The rookie is likely the better value right now for fantasy managers, but Mostert should be able to provide RB2/3 numbers for as long as he’s healthy.
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