Fantasy football: When to use the 49ers’ defense/special teams in 2018

The San Francisco 49ers defense/special teams isn’t expected to be a fantasy football factor much in 2018. But you can get by with this unit as an option if you do so carefully.

Barring anything crazy, the San Francisco 49ers‘ defense/special teams unit shouldn’t be a high-priority target for you when it comes to fantasy football leagues.

The Niners D/ST didn’t even crack ESPN’s latest top-200 rankings for PPR leagues heading into 2018, and it’s not hard to understand why. A year ago, San Francisco finished 25th in points allowed (383) and total yardage given up (5,625). The same unit ranked 20th in turnovers generated (20) and was tied for 26th with 30 sacks.

Don’t waste a late-round fantasy draft pick on this unit. But if you’re in a bind and need some coverage for a bye week, or your starting defense has a tough matchup, don’t lose sight of some favorable matchups for San Francisco’s defenders.

The Niners are tied for the 15th toughest strength of schedule in 2018. That should equate to some favorable matchups this season.

They are as follows:

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/17/2018.

Weeks 5 & 8 versus/at the Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are going through a massive overhaul this season and don’t figure to be very good. Outside running back David Johnson and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals don’t poise to be a major threat to anyone within the division.

Especially with oft-injured quarterback Sam Bradford projected to start in 2018.

Weeks 9 & 10 versus the Oakland Raiders, New York Giants

Both the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants are coming off disappointing efforts, offensively, last season.

Keep an eye on how both Oakland and New York are trending for the first few weeks of the year before considering a 49ers D/ST fantasy football matchup in Weeks 9 and 10. Both games being at home for San Francisco bode well for this unit, meaning you might be able to use its D/ST as a favorable place holder.

San Francisco 49ers

Week 12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a lot of offensive firepower, including wide receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson. USC running back Ronald Jones (Round 2 of the 2018 NFL Draft) should help round out the ground game.

But so much of what the Bucs do this season will hinge on quarterback Jameis Winston’s ability to finally take that crucial next step in his development.

Remember, we were saying Tampa Bay was going to be a force within the NFC South last season.

It didn’t happen, meaning you should watch for a favorable 49ers defense coming off fresh from a bye week.

Weeks 14 & 15 versus the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks

If you’ve made it this far in your fantasy football season, you probably don’t want to overthink things and put the Niners D/ST in your starting lineup as your fantasy playoffs are in full gear.

But if you absolutely flopped on your D/ST selection in 2018, you could do worse than consider San Francisco’s D/ST in Weeks 14 and 15 at home against the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, respectively.

Denver’s offense should be improved after acquiring quarterback Case Keenum in free agency this offseason. This doesn’t translate to the Broncos suddenly becoming an offensive powerhouse, however, so it might be worth a look depending on what Denver does in 2018.

Same goes with the Seahawks. Quarterback Russell Wilson will be carrying this offense on his shoulders. And while he’s more than capable of upsetting your fantasy football risk in Week 15, there’s a good chance this matchup winds up being a low-scoring affair.

Next: 5 winning strategies to ace your 2018 fantasy football draft

That could translate into a sneaky win for your 49ers D/ST unit to get you into your fantasy championship.