In support of: Feeding America
Our mission is to advance change in America by ensuring equitable access to nutritious food for all in partnership with food banks, policymakers, supporters, and the communities we serve.
Nominated by Fantasy Tycoon (@FF_Tycoon)
“It’s quite simple for me. I chose Feeding America simply because too many people, particularly children, go hungry on a regular basis. There are few things more heartbreaking to me. The food waste in this country is astronomical. While I’ve since moved, I’m originally from the Bay Area, which is why I chose the 49ers. I chose this organization for them because California struggles with homelessness more than any other state, and hunger is a real problem in the Bay Area. No person anywhere should have to go without this basic life need.”
#Project32 Menu
2020 Recap
Division: NFC West
2020 Finish: 6-10 (4th in NFC West)
2020 Tendencies:
- Passing Ratio: 57% (19th)
- Neutral Game Script: 55% (24th)
- Offensive Scheme: West Coast
Personnel Groupings:
- 11 Personnel (1RB, 1TE, 3WR) = 44%
- 21 Personnel (2RB, 1TE, 2WR) = 33%
- 12 Personnel (1RB, 2TE, 2WR) = 12%
- 22 Personnel (2RB, 2TE, 1WR) = 9%
- 23 Personnel (2RB, 3TE, 0WR) = 1%
Coaching Room
Head Coach: Kyle Shanahan
Kyle Shanahan enters his fifth season as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. It took a couple of years to rebuild this roster, but in 2019 it all came together as the team finished the regular season 13-3 and earned a trip to the Super Bowl. They would lose to the Kansas City Chiefs 31-20, but the culture had shifted, and expectations were high going into the 2020 season. Unfortunately, COVID-19 restrictions forced teams to forego preseason games and jump right into live action when the season began. The NFL injury list was insane, but nobody was hit harder than the San Francisco 49ers on both sides of the ball. Shanahan’s offense lost key players like George Kittle (8), Jimmy Garoppolo (10), Deebo Samuel (9), and Raheem Mostert (8) for a total of 35 games and that doesn’t include all the key injuries on defense like Nick Bosa, Solomon Thomas, and Dee Ford. It was simply too much to overcome and they finished the 2020 season 6-10. The outlook for 2021 looks very promising as they added Trey Lance and Trey Sermon via the 2021 NFL Draft and Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle should wreak havoc on opposing defenses in the passing game. Shanahan has done an outstanding job building this team from the inside out starting with the offensive line. Over the last three seasons he’s traded for Trent Williams, signed Alex Mack as a free agent, and drafted Laken Tomlinson, Aaron Banks, and Mike McGlinchey to form what should be one of the best offensive lines in the NFL in 2021. The big question now for Shanahan is how long can Jimmy Garoppolo hold off third overall pick, Trey Lance, as the starting quarterback?
Overall Rank: 9th/32
OL Room
LT Trent Williams – PFF 91.9, Pass Blocking 84.8, Run Blocking 91.8
Trent Williams is one of the best left tackles in the NFL evidenced by his eight Pro Bowl selections over his 11-year career. He missed the 2019 season with the Washington Football Team after a growth on his head was misdiagnosed by team doctors. He lost trust in the organization and demanded a trade which eventually landed him in San Francisco. In his first season with the 49ers, Pro Football Focus graded him as the number one left tackle both in Overall Grade (91.9) and Run Block Grade (91.8). If he can stay healthy for a full season this offensive line should finish as one of the best in the league.
LG Laken Tomlinson – PFF 78.8, Pass Blocking 62.2, Run Blocking 80.9
Laken Tomlinson had his best season as a pro in 2020 finishing with an overall PFF grade of 78.8 placing him eighth in the NFL at the guard position. He also placed eighth in Run Block Grade with an 80.9 and will look to build off that entering his seventh season in the NFL. The left side of this line is good, especially in the run game which is a big part of this offense.
C Alex Mack – PFF 65.9 Pass Blocking 56.4, Run Blocking 70.2
Alex Mack is the savvy veteran of this group and will be entering his 13th year in the league. After spending the first 12 years of his career in Atlanta he is looking forward to a change of scenery. Mack will be reunited with his former offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, and will be a great scheme fit in this system.
RG Aaron Banks – PFF 81.3, Pass Blocking 80.8, Run Blocking 82.1
Aaron Banks was drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft out of Notre Dame and should plug right in as the starting right guard in San Francisco. Banks started 31 games at Notre Dame and only gave up two sacks in his last two seasons. He finished with an 87.2 Zone Grade in his senior season which should translate to the outside zone scheme that Shanahan employs in San Francisco.
RT Mike McGlinchey – PFF 79.6, Pass Blocking 58.3, Run Blocking 91.3
Mike McGlinchey is another Notre Dame product on the San Francisco offensive line after being selected 9th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. He finished the 2020 season as the second-best tackle in the NFL with a 91.3 run-block grade and had his best season with a 79.6 overall grade. McGlinchey and Williams may be the best duo of starting tackles in the NFL.
New Toys: N/A
Old News: Ben Garland (5/5), Hroniss Grasu (9/3)
Overall Rank: 12th/32
QB Room
Trey Lance (QB32)
Trey Lance grew up and played high school football in Marshall, Minnesota where the total population is only 14,000 so there were no Power 5 schools knocking on his door. Instead, he chose to play college football at FCS powerhouse, North Dakota State where, as a redshirt freshman, he would lead the Bison to an FCS national championship. All he did was throw for 2,786 yards and 28 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,100 yards and another 14 touchdowns. NFL Scouts had seen enough and knew the small-town dual threat quarterback was going to be special and would be a future first round draft pick in the NFL. He only played one game in his final season at NDSU due to COVID-19 to simply showcase his talent one last time in preparation for the 2020 NFL Draft. The 49ers fell in love with everything about Lance and made him the 3rd overall pick so expectations are very high and he couldn’t have landed in a better situation. Kyle Shanahan is an outstanding play caller and the 49ers have a stacked roster on offense that features Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and a stable of running backs to go along with one of the best offensive lines in football. It is believed that Jimmy Garoppolo will start the season, but don’t be surprised if we see Trey Lance get his first start in Week 7 coming off of the bye week.
Fantasy Outlook
Passing: 402 attempts, 68.7%, 3020 yards, 16 touchdowns
Rushing: 64 attempts, 400 yards, 4 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 238.8
Jimmy Garoppolo (QB34)
Jimmy Garoppolo is set to be the opening day starter in San Francisco heading into the pre-season, but if he gets off to a slow start you could see Shanahan move on to his prized rookie, Trey Lance. The reality is that Jimmy G has struggled to stay healthy and has not performed at a high level on a consistent basis since the 2019 season when the team last played in the Super Bowl. The 2019 season also marks the only time in his career where he played in all 16 games. He completed 69% of his passes and threw for 27 touchdowns, but he also had 13 interceptions and ranked seventh in most interceptable passes thrown with 28. In 2020 over six starts the 49ers were 3-3 and he was less than flattering with only seven touchdowns to go with five interceptions while missing 10 games due to a high-ankle sprain. Shanahan has been consistent in stating that Jimmy G is their QB1, but if the ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl, I don’t know how long you can keep a dual threat quarterback like Trey Lance on the sidelines who can bring more to this offense when he’s ready.
Fantasy Outlook
Passing: 180 attempts, 66.3%, 1317 yards, 6 touchdowns
Rushing: 4 attempts, 17 yards, 0 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 72.4
New Toys: Nate Sudfeld
Old News: Nick Mullens (10/8), C.J. Beathard (6/2)
Fantasy Position Rank: 21st/32
RB Room
Trey Sermon (RB28)
Trey Sermon was drafted in the third round, 88th overall, out of Ohio State University. He spent three seasons at Oklahoma and after graduating he transferred to Ohio State. It appeared that Trey was no loner going to be the RB1 in Oklahoma after Kennedy Brooks took full advantage of his opportunity when Sermon was out with an injury. The timing also made sense for Ohio State as Master Teague suffered a knee injury in spring ball, so the stage was set for Sermon to make the move. In his three seasons at Oklahoma he ran for 2,076 yards with 22 touchdowns averaging 6.1 yards per carry. In his lone season at Ohio State he rushed 116 times for 870 yards and a whopping 7.5 yards per carry. With Jeff Wilson out for the early part of the season and Raheem Mostert’s lack of touches in the passing game (only 36 receptions in three years), there is an opportunity for Sermon to make an immediate impact.
Fantasy Outlook
Rushing: 161 attempts, 800 yards, 8 touchdowns
Receiving: 44 targets, 31 receptions, 252 yards, 1 touchdown
Total Fantasy Points: 190.0
Raheem Mostert (RB40)
Raheem Mostert was an UDFA in 2015 out of Purdue University. In his first two seasons in the NFL he played in just 14 games with five teams with only 2 carries for 12 yards. He finally found a home in San Francisco in 2016 and he has been here ever since. It wasn’t until 2017 that he finally got his chance to play a significant role with a career high 137 carries for 772 yards and 8 touchdowns over 16 games splitting time with Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman. Unfortunately, he would only play in 8 games in 2020 rushing for 521 yards and two touchdowns and appears to be dealing with a minor knee injury heading into the pre-season. Shanahan has always had a RBBC approach and they 49ers drafted both Trey Sermon and Elijah Mitchell so 2021 doesn’t look to be any different.
Fantasy Outlook
Rushing: 142 carries, 678 yards, 6 touchdowns
Receiving: 26 targets, 19 receptions, 161 yards, 0 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 138.4
New Toys: Elijah Mitchell
Old News: Tevin Coleman (8/1), Jerick McKinnon (16/4)
Fantasy Position Rank: 9th/32
WR Room
Brandon Aiyuk (WR22)
Brandon Aiyuk was drafted 25th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and certainly lived up to the hype during his rookie season. In 12 games, Aiyuk had 60 receptions, 748 yards, and five touchdowns to go along with 77 yards rushing and two touchdowns. With that said, most of his production was with Deebo Samuel and George Kittle out of the lineup, but the reality is that he proved he could be the WR1 with an ability to make tough catches in traffic and extend plays after the catch. Aiyuk should lead this group in 2021 and record his first, of hopefully many, 1,000-yard seasons.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 128 targets, 87 receptions, 1085 yards, 8 touchdowns
Rushing: 8 attempts, 71 yards, 1 touchdown
Total Fantasy Points: 256.4
Deebo Samuel (WR48)
Deebo was a second-round pick by the 49ers in the 2019 NFL Draft and finished his rookie season with 57 receptions, 802 yards, and 3 touchdowns to go along with 159 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Deebo brings explosiveness to this offense with what he can do in the run game and the screen game due to his ability to run through tackles and pick up extra yards. In 2019, he was fifth in the league in yards after catch (461) and fantasy points per target (2.31). Unfortunately, his 2020 season was cut short due to multiple injuries allowing him to only suit up for seven games. If Deebo and Aiyuk can both stay healthy for all 17 games in 2021 this group is going to be fun to watch.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 103 targets, 70 receptions, 705 yards, 4 touchdowns
Rushing: 17 attempts, 121 yards, 2 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 189.0
New Toys: Mohamed Sanu
Old News: Trent Taylor (12/1)
Fantasy Position Rank: 26th/32
TE Room
George Kittle (TE4)
George Kittle enters his fifth season in the NFL with two Pro Bowl selections and a First-Team All-Pro selection. When he’s on the field he is one of the most dominant tight ends in the game both as a pass-catcher and run-blocker that brings leadership and energy to this team. The biggest pain point for Kittle has been his inability to stay healthy, missing ten games in the last two seasons including eight games in 2020. In his two Pro Bowl seasons (2018-19) he had a combined 243 targets, 173 receptions, 2,430 yards, and 10 touchdowns. If the 49ers are going to make another Super Bowl run, they will need Mr. Kittle on the field.
Fantasy Outlook
Receiving: 126 targets, 88 receptions, 1066 yards, 8 touchdowns
Total Fantasy Points: 242.6
New Toys: N/A
Old News: Jordan Reed (10/1)
Fantasy Position Rank: 7th/32
2021 Full Player Projections
Make Your Own Projections With Our Template!
Strength of Schedule (SOS): #13 (.502 128-127-1)
2021 Predicted Finish: 10-7 (2nd NFC West)
Note: all projections are PPR scoring
