Fantasy Football: Early San Francisco 49ers Stock Watch for 2016
By Peter Panacy
Sleeper Options for San Francisco
As any experienced fantasy veteran can tell you, championships are won in the mid-to-late rounds of any draft.
You’re going to get good players in Rounds 1 and 2 of your fantasy draft. We all know that. But finding those proverbial “diamond in the rough” players is what determines a champ or a chump.
Once you’ve filled out your starting rosters and have some amicable depth/backup options, you might want to consider one or two 49ers sleeper picks who might wind up turning some heads in 2016.
Wide Receiver DeAndre Smelter
Second-year wideout DeAndre Smelter could have been one of the top receiving prospects in the 2015 NFL Draft had it not been for an ACL injury at Georgia Tech that season.
Fully healthy, Smelter has a ton of potential — as we’ve discussed already here at Niner Noise — and might wind up earning himself a starting job alongside veteran Torrey Smith at some point this season.
You may not select him during fantasy draft day, but keep an eye on the waiver wire if he starts to produce.
Wide Receiver Aaron Burbridge
With the 49ers likely not re-signing veteran wideout Anquan Boldin, there should be a lot of pressure on rookie draftee Aaron Burbridge out of Michigan State to secure the No. 2 starting job this season.
Burbridge is nearly an identical clone of Boldin, who led the Niners in receiving yards in each of his three seasons in San Francisco.
Similar to Smelter, keep an eye on the former Spartan on the waiver wire. And, if he flashes more than a few moments in the preseason, you might want to consider a late-round flier.
Tight End Garrett Celek
Head coach Chip Kelly could be the one person who could turn former depth tight end Garrett Celek into a Zach Ertz-type receiving option in 2016.
The Niners re-signed Celek to a nice extension during the offseason, and he appears to be the favorite to start in a base offense. With the 49ers lacking an established core of receivers entering the year, Celek might wind up being a security blanket and red-zone threat for San Francisco’s offense.
If you need a bye-week tight end to plug a gap, Celek may be worth the pickup.
Next: 49ers QB Battle: Kaepernick vs. Gabbert
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.