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Fantasy Football: 5 San Francisco 49ers Sleeper Picks for Your 2016 Team

By Peter Panacy

Nov 29, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Bruce Ellington (10) catches the ball during warm ups before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 29, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Bruce Ellington (10) catches the ball during warm ups before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Bruce Ellington (10) during the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Bruce Ellington (10) during the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

Wide Receiver Bruce Ellington

2016 ESPN Fantasy Projection: 70.7 points

San Francisco’s best sleeper pick, by far, is third-year wide receiver Bruce Ellington.

The 2014 fourth-round draft pick hasn’t exactly made splashes over his first two seasons at the NFL level, and it’s a safe bet the 49ers’ previous coaching regimes didn’t exactly put him to use the appropriate way.

As a result, his NFL-career stat line of 19 receptions, 215 receiving yards and two touchdown grabs don’t exactly say a lot about the 5-foot-9, 197-pound speedster.

But here is where we connect the dots between Ellington and head coach Chip Kelly.

I envision Kelly utilizing Ellington in a Darren Sproles-like role on offense. Ellington should automatically be considered a favorite out of the slot, and you can get a better idea of Ellington’s potential impact by reading Niner Noise’s Rich Madrid’s breakdown here.

We shouldn’t go as far as to suggest Ellington should be a starter, even in the deepest of fantasy leagues.

Based on what we might assume under Kelly, Ellington should be worth a look and, perhaps, even a stash player towards the back end of your roster.

More from Niner Noise

Even if you don’t want to waste a roster spot on a guy like Ellington, keep an eye on him over the course of the season. If you’re in need of a player to fill the gap on offense, and especially if the Niners are facing a team struggling to cover over the slot, don’t hesitate to pick him up.

Who knows? You might end up grabbing a guy who winds up being a regular contributor over the course of the season on San Francisco’s offense.

Next: 49ers WR Torrey Smith Poised for Big Fantasy Season

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated. Fantasy stat projections courtesy of ESPN.