Fantasy football: 49ers Tevin Coleman a must start vs. Packers

In Week 12 on Sunday Night Football, the San Francisco 49ers take on the Green Bay Packers. In what should be an exciting game, 49ers running back Tevin Coleman is a fantasy football must start.

This Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers take on the Green Bay Packers. As the Niners and Packers are the top two teams in the NFC, this game has very important postseason implications. If you play your cards right, it can have postseason implications for your fantasy football team as well.

So, let’s take a look at why 49ers running back Tevin Coleman is a fantasy football must start.

First, a disclaimer: I know it’s hard to play Coleman, or any Niners running back, for that matter. I have ridden this emotional roller coaster with you as a Coleman owner in two of my fantasy leagues. I know it’s been painful watching Coleman fail to repeat his 35-point week against the Carolina Panthers in Week 8.

But in fantasy, you can’t afford to let the fact Coleman has burned you in past weeks prevent you from playing him this week. He is in for a great week, and here’s why.

The first reason Coleman is a great play is his workload. Coleman has been the Niners lead back in recent weeks. And with his fellow running back Matt Breida currently considered doubtful with an injury, there is no reason Coleman’s workload should decrease. Even if Breida plays, he shouldn’t eat into Coleman’s workload enough to decrease Coleman’s fantasy value. The same goes for 49ers reserve running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson.

Coleman has proven, when given the right opportunities, he has huge fantasy upside. And his workload is only one of his opportunities this week.

The second is the matchup.

The Packers are a great football team, led by one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, Aaron Rodgers. Over the past few weeks, the 49ers have shown, despite their defense’s strength, they can be scored on. Because of this, the game should be high scoring. And it would seem the experts agree, as the over/under for this game is set at 48 points, according to the Action Network.

With a high-scoring game, both offenses should be finding the end zone regularly. While the Niners defense should be able to significantly slow Rodgers and the Packers down, they will still score. The Niners will be scoring as well. It is likely much of San Francisco’s offensive production will come through the run game.

This is because of a couple of factors. One is the 49ers are dealing with a fair amount of injuries, including those hindering three of the offense’s key pass catchers: George Kittle, Emmanuel Sanders and Deebo Samuel. While it seems these players have a chance to play, their injuries should still hinder the Niners passing attack.

So, as they have very successfully for a large portion of this season, the 49ers will likely lean on their rushing attack for offensive production. That will lead to Coleman having a large workload.

And luckily, the Packers are very vulnerable to running backs. They have given up the sixth most fantasy points to opposing running backs out of all NFL teams, averaging 22.7 fantasy points per game in standard scoring formats.

With the 49ers likely to heavily rely on their run game against a vulnerable Packers defense, Coleman should be in for a huge fantasy game.

Here’s a few other quick fantasy thoughts:

If Breida plays, he could be a flex play if needed, but with his injury struggles I’d look for another option. If Breida is out, Mostert is a solid flex option as well.

Don’t expect quarterback

Jimmy Garoppolo

to repeat last week’s 30-point performance, but he is a viable fantasy play if necessary, due to the high-scoring nature of this matchup.

The fantasy football regular season is coming to a close, and now is the time to make a last minute surge into your playoffs. In this high-pressure fantasy environment, Coleman is a fantasy football must start in Week 12 against the Green Bay Packers.