Getty Raheem Mostert of the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers currently own the league’s second-ranked rushing offense, sitting only behind the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens, with an average of nearly 150 yards per game.
However, despite their dominant run game, it’s been a revolving door of faces on a nearly weekly basis for which player will lead the way at running back for San Francisco.
Tevin Coleman seemed to have finally locked down the starting gig for the ‘9ers after putting up a handful of impressive outings. Yet, recent less-than notable performances opened the door for an early-season waiver-wire darling, Raheem Mostert, to reassert himself into San Francisco’s RB rotation, as well as back on the minds of numerous fantasy football owners looking to gain an edge on their way to a league championship.
Can Mostert build off of his stellar Week 13 showing, or is there simply too many mouths to feed for the 49ers for Mostert to warrant a starting spot in your Week 14 lineups? Let’s take a look.
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Raheem Mostert’s Fantasy Outlook vs. New Orleans Saints
Here’s a quick summary of the headache known as the 49ers running back position this season. Matt Breida replaces an injured Tevin Coleman after one week of play. Matt Breida then lost touches to Raheem Mostert over the next few games. Mostert was than supplanted by a now-healthy Tevin Coleman, only for Coleman to open the door for Mostert to re-establish himself after poor play. Are you still following along?
Since rushing for 105 yards and three touchdowns in Week 8, Tevin Coleman has now rushed for 40 yards or fewer in five consecutive weeks. San Francisco seemingly saw enough from their “starting” running back in Week 13 and opted to feature Raheem Mostert in their backfield against the vaunting Baltimore Ravens defensive front. Prior to Week 13, Baltimore had allowed just one running back to eclipse 65 yards rushing over their last seven games.
That all came to an end when Mostert carved up the Ravens to the tune of 146 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown on 19 carries. It’s honestly no surprise that Mostert excelled with the added workload. Mostert has been one of the league’s most efficient runners this season.
In games that he’s carried the ball at least seven times this year, Moster has averaged an impressive 6.11 yards per carry. He’s also riding a two-game streak with at least 7.5 yards per carry average and a touchdown in back-to-back weeks.
However, just when it seems like San Francisco has settled on a running back, yet another wrench is thrown into the process.
Matt Breida is set to make his return the 49ers lineup this week, giving the team a three-headed monster in the backfield. Great for San Fran, but a major headache for fantasy owners.
To make matters worse, only three defenses have allowed fewer fantasy points to opposing running backs than the 49ers opponents this week, the New Orleans Saints.
Since Week 6, the Saints have not allowed a single running back to eclipse 64 rushing yards, while no back has surpassed 83 rushing yards against them all season long. They’ve also allowed just one rushing touchdown to the position since Week 5.
Should You Start or Sit Raheem Mostert in Week 14?
If you’re going with a 49ers running back in Week 14, Mostert is your guy. However, the matchup and his potential usage, or lack of it, is a major risk, especially in a do-or-die playoff game.
Mostert has not had double-digit rushing attempts in back-to-back weeks since Week 2 and Week 3. He also offers very little in the receiving game, hauling in more than two receptions just once this season.
Mostert is an RB4 on Sunday in PPR-scoring formats, with RB3 upside if given a plus-sized workload.
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