The 49ers and Cardinals play the first game of Week 9, so you know fantasy football owners will be fretting over start 'em, sit 'em decisions, especially with some many key players "questionable" (David Johnson, Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert). Fortunately, we're here to help your season-long lineups and DraftKings Showdown DFS picks with our look at the top players, potential sleepers, and probable busts for this Thursday Night Football divisional matchup.
The 49ers-Cardinals TNF game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET and can be seen on Fox, NFL Network or Amazon Prime Video).
MORE TNF: DK Showdown picks | Breida, Mostert injury updates | Johnson injury update
49ers: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Shallow standard/PPR leagues
Start: RB Tevin Coleman
He ripped off 105 yards and three TDs on 11 carries last week against the Panthers' weak run defense and had 13 more yards and a TD on two receptions. With Matt Breida (ankle) and Raheem Mostert (knee) perhaps a little limited if they would be active for the game, Coleman should see something more in the 15-20-touch range against the Cardinals' No. 25 run defense.
WEEK 9 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Start: TE George Kittle
He's the best all-around tight end in the NFL coming off a strong game (six catches for 86 yards) against the Panthers in which he should have scored, too. The Cardinals give up the most points to fantasy football, too. Boom.
Sit: WR Emmanuel Sanders
Sanders can move around like many members of the 49ers' more crowded wide receiver corps, which may have Marquise Goodwin (personal) back in the mix, so he might not see too much of Patrick Peterson. The problem is, despite scoring a TD in his debut, he caught only four-of-five targets for 25 yards and this certainly should be a Kittle-dominated game. Sanders has a pretty low floor with little upside.
Start: Defense/special teams
Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman and friends will have more fun against a rookie QB after torturing Kyle Allen and the Panthers last week. It will be a miracle if the Cardinals get to 20 points and it should be a struggle just to get to 10.
Start: K Robbie Gould
He has had some troubles with misses this season, but he's indoors and should be in position for some tack-on work, a la Dan Bailey of the Vikings last Thursday.
WEEK 9 PPR RANKINGS: Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Deep standard/PPR leagues
Start: WR Deebo Samuel
Samuel has a little more appeal here because of his recent usage. He caught all of his three targets for 19 yards last week, but he made his day viable as a WR3 or FLEX with his two rushes for 29 yards and a TD. Samuel is more a tough, quick guy than pure speedster, so the 49ers could easily design something nicely for him here away from Peterson.
Start: QB JImmy Garoppolo
He has a low ceiling because of their rushing success and little offensive resistance against their defense. But with Kittle potentially going kaboom he can be on the front end of it off pay-action for something like 200-250 yards and two TDs.
Start: RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
OK, we're waiting on official word on Breida and Mostert, but the smart thing to do should they be active is for coach Kyle Shanahan to be careful with their usage, given there's a mini-bye to fully rest both committee backs after this game. Here''s a bit of a dart throw that Wilson will pay off with a short random TD late when the game is in control.
WEEK 9 DFS LINEUPS:
Y! cash | Y! GPP | DK cash | DK GPP | FD cash | FD GPP
Cardinals: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Shallow standard/PPR leagues
Sit: QB Kyler Murray
Murray threw three TDs against the Falcons three weeks ago, but in the other four of his past five, he's failed to throw a touchdown pass. And this is the 49ers' defense. And they probably will cut off his running. No thanks.
Sit: RB Kenyan Drake
The Drake goes from frustrating you with the Dolphins to further frustrating you with the Cardinals. He technically is the best back available here if Johnson (ankle, back) is out, but he also is contending with Zach Zenner and Alfred Morris getting work in a brutal matchup. Gotta hate the Drake.
Start: WR Christian Kirk
Kirk returned to action against the Saints and immediately became Murray's go-to guy again. He was targeted 11 times against a tough Saints' defense, catching eight passes for 79 yards. With some garbage time again, he can put up similar numbers to get it done as a WR3 for you.
Deep standard/PPR leagues
Sit: WR Larry Fitzgerald
Let's quickly review what Fitz has done in the past two games combined: three catches on seven targets for 20 yards. The high-end production from Weeks 1 and 2 looks long gone with the return of Kirk. And he's seen plenty of Sherman before and hasn't fared well when they're on the field together.
Sit: TE Charles Clay
Clay randomly did something in this passing offense last week, but then he popped up with a back issue through which he'll play on Thursday. Tight end is rough out there, but you can do much better than this in this matchup.
Sit: Defense/special teams
Unless you get points for rushing yards allowed, stay away.
Sit: K Zane Gonazalez
In theory, he might be kicking multiple field goals again given their TD-scoring struggles, especially in the red zone. In practice, they might not get past the 50 much in this one.
49ers-Cardinals DraftKings Showdown lineup for Thursday night
Captain: TE George Kittle ($13,800)
FLEX: QB Jimmy Garoppolo ($10,400)
FLEX: RB Tevin Coleman ($9,000)
FLEX: 49ers D/ST ($7,400)
FLEX: WR Christian Kirk ($7,400) or WR Deebo Samuel ($5,200)
FLEX: RB Jeff Wilson Jr. ($2,000) or K Robbie Gould ($3,880)
The bottom line here is we want the 49ers' principals in lineups as much as possible. Kittle is in the easy smash spot and should be the chalk captain, but who cares? And we certainly want a red-hot Coleman in there. Double correlation calls for Jimmy G and the Niners D.
As for the other two spots, to get Kirk in there, we must go with the wild card of Wilson, an even better viable value if either Breida or Mostert gets scratched as a game-time decision. If somehow both are active and expected to see normal sprinkling with Coleman, then we go all Niners with Samuel making a big play and Gould making multiple field goals.
