Jauan Jennings injury: What status means for Week 2 vs. Saints

Game day update: Adam Schefter is reporting that Jennings is expected to play, while Ian Rapoport is reporting he is considered an optimistic game-time decision but it will depend on how his pregame workout goes.

The San Francisco 49ers will head to New Orleans to face the Saints as 3-point road favorites on Sunday. That line is much closer than it would usually be, due to their quarterback, Brock Purdy, being sidelined with turf toe. Mac Jones will fill in for Purdy for however long he is out, which is looking like at least two games. They also will be without tight end George Kittle, who was put on the PUP list this week. Jones could have receiver Jauan Jennings back in the fold, as he is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. Jennings suffered the injury in Week 1 against the Seahawks.

Jennings didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday, but was able to go on Friday and is listed as questionable to play in New Orleans.

At this point we don’t have a good read on if Jennings will play or not. If he does, he will have a good matchup against a weak Saints pass defense, but will also have Mac Jones at quarterback. Jones isn’t a killer for wide receiver value, but this game might not need a whole lot of downfield passing, as the team will likely lean on Christian McCaffrey and a healthy Ricky Pearsall. Marquez Valdez-Scantling is Jennings’ main backup, but wouldn’t have any real fantasy value if he got the start with Jennings out.

With Kittle out, there is room for a player other than McCaffrey and Pearsall to be fantasy relevant in a good matchup. Jennings does have upside to be a useful start, but I don’t expect his upside to be great in a game where they will likely try to mitigate any Mac Jones errors by running the offense through their stud running back.