The Week 9 matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers features two teams that are struggling offensively lately, although one of them keeps finding ways to win. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.
Fantasy football projections, Week 9: Falcons-49ers featuring Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman and Jerome Simpson
We break down the Week 9 matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers.
Atlanta Falcons
Wide receiver Julio Jones is officially back on track. He’s found his way into the end zone in each of the last two games and last week he caught all but one target for 12 catches 162 yards and a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While the San Francisco 49ers have a slightly better defense than that of the Bucs, Jones should keep on ticking. He’s arguably the best fantasy receiver of the year and his last two solid efforts broke a streak of three consecutive subpar performances. He may not find the end zone against the 49ers, but they certainly won’t stop him.
They won’t stop running back Devonta Freeman, either. He didn’t score a touchdown last week but he did put together 131 total yards catching six passes out of the backfield. Freeman has been getting a steady work volume since rookie Tevin Coleman went down with an injury and hasn’t looked back. San Francisco is one of the worst teams in the league and limiting fantasy production to the running back position, so Freeman should prove golden in Week 9.
San Francisco 49ers
Starting running back Carlos Hyde is hurt, tight end Vernon Davis is now a member of the Denver Broncos and quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been benched in favor of former Jacksonville Jaguars bust Blaine Gabbert. It’s anybody’s guess as to why a fantasy owner would start anyone on the team’s roster at the moment, but those who go with Gabbert may see a backup with nothing to lose trying to keep things respectable and throwing a ton against the Falcons.
Gabbert will be throwing the ball down the field to wide receiver Jerome Simpson. Simpson saw 10 targets in his season debut last week. Combine that with the fact Torrey Smith has been boom or bust this year and Anquan Boldin missed practice during the week thanks to a hamstring injury, and Simpson could be an under-the-radar performer this week. Then again, he could also falter given how anemic the 49ers have been offensively this season.
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