Getty Gallery: 2/5
Favorite Captains for Giants vs. 49ers
For the most part, I narrow my captain list down to 5-6 players. This is more than some players choose to go with, but I try to leave myself flexibility as the construction of rosters can lead to you having to stay open to options. For the DraftKings showdown breakdowns, the player's captain pricing of 1.5x more is included.
Along with the names below, I'll also consider using a few others in certain spots, but that depends on the risk/reward of going cheap in the captain spot and the specific slate. The other options to consider in the bonus spots are also in my typical builds, as I try to lock in on a core of my favorite targets across the board and build around them.
– Saquon Barkley ($19,200)
– Odell Beckham Jr. ($17,700)
– Nick Mullens ($14,700)
– Matt Breida ($12,300)
– Sterling Shepard ($10,800)
– Kendrick Bourne ($3,000)
*Marquise Goodwin ($9,600, big-play potential), George Kittle ($14,100) and 49ers DST ($4,800) are also in consideration.
Favorite expensive captains: Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr.
Top value-saving captains: Kendrick Bourne
This is an elite spot for Saquon Barkley, who apparently has the most impressive fantasy floor of anyone other than Todd Gurley this season. The 49ers give up yards on the ground, but also specifically through to the air to opposing running backs. On the season they've allowed 55 receptions for 452 yards and three scores, which bodes incredibly well for the Giants back, who's caught 58 passes for 497 yards this season.
Odell Beckham Jr. is one of my other top plays and he's been excellent as of late, totaling 130-plus yards in three of the past four games. He should have little trouble against a below-average 49ers secondary, even with the struggles of Eli Manning as of late. Beckham's upside is higher than anyone's on the slate as well.
Two other receivers I'm high on in the captain spot include Sterling Shepard and Kendrick Bourne, but for different reasons. Shepard's ownership should be down after he had a very mediocre showing last game. I love getting low ownership from a player who could post a strong stat line and won't break the bank in the captain spot.
Bourne is squarely in play after the 49ers ruled out Pierre Garcon for this game. It was just two games ago that he caught 7-of-10 targets for 71 yards. In that game, Garcon was also sidelined and Bourne played 82 percent of the team's offensive snaps, per Football Outsiders. He's the clear-cut option to replace Garcon against a Giants secondary who's struggled as of late.
Let's get into the lineups by first breaking down the top optimal lineup for this showdown slate and then move to the 150-max and single entry.