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Thursday Night Preview – Packers @ 49ers

Another Thursday Night game coming our way this week, as the Green Bay Packers take on the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. It looks like it should be a mostly sunny and 80 degree day, dipping to about 65 degrees right around kickoff. So at least the weather has cooperated!

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way real quick. The Niners have been DECIMATED by injuries this season. Anyone you thought would be fantasy relevant has missed games for one reason or another and it seems like they add to the list every week. Kittle has had multiple stints where he has missed time and now looks like he will be out for the remainder of the fantasy year, so Ross Dwelley becomes the de facto starter for the time being. Jordan Reed is working hard to come back from yet another injury, but I’m not putting a ton of eggs into that basket. Even if he plays Thursday Night, which looks like a real possibility, the Niners would be wise to ease him in and not overuse him and put unnecessary strain on that knee his first week back.

One more note worth mentioning for Kittle, there are reports coming from HC Kyle Shanahan that he may only miss two weeks, but the typical time frame for a fractured cuboid bone (in the foot) is about 8 weeks. So time will tell on this, but for the GB matchup this week, Dwelley looks to be the guy.

Now let’s talk about the running back position. Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and Tevin Coleman are all out this week. Mostert and Wilson both on IR, and Coleman designated as out after having just made his return from his own prolonged IR stint last week. This leaves JaMycal Hasty (TSF Preseason RB Dart Throw of the Year) and Jerick McKinnon to handle all of the running back work, so both are likely must starts if you own them this week. Given what we just saw Dalvin Cook do to the GB run defense, I think any RB in this matchup should be getting a start.

To add on to this even further, Jimmy Garoppolo has also made his way to the IR, with the same ankle that hampered him earlier this season. Reports are swirling that he may even be done for the year. So this leaves Nick Mullens (and possibly CJ Beathard) to handle the SF QB duties. But who will they throw to? We already talked about Kittle being out, so how about the WRs? Not so fast!

Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk will both miss this game due to COVID/close contact with Kendrick Bourne, who was the one who tested positive for COVID and will also be missing the TNF game. Now, to be clear, it is presumed that Bourne’s test was a false positive, considering he and all the others who tested positive turned around and yielded negative tests the following day. But SF is likely doing the responsible thing and holding them out of the contest anyways, as to avoid any potential punishment for activating a player with a positive test.

Which brings me right into the Green Bay Packers. Last week, they let AJ Dillon play despite their knowledge of his failed COVID test. Big no no. Now, it looks like Dillon, Jamaal Williams, and possibly Aaron Jones will all miss the TNF game, the first two for being on the COVID list and Jones for the calf strain that has held him out the last two weeks. At the time of this writing (4pm EST) there is no current update for Jones’ status, he is still labeled as questionable. It would be a huge boost for the Packers if he can go, but he may still struggle to put up fantasy numbers while facing a stout Niner rush defense.

Finally, we have the pass catchers in GB. Adams is an obvious must start, regardless of the matchup he faces, as is Aaron Rodgers, who even in a down game against MIN was able to turn in a respectable fantasy day. The one guy to really keep an eye on is Allen Lazard, who has a chance to suit up this week after having core muscle surgery earlier in the season. He made the trip with the team to SF and he is rumored to be trying to make his return to the field tonight, so if he starts I would consider him a must play. He may be eased in, but the Pack desperately need a weapon opposite Davante Adams and Lazard has proven that he can be that guy. It will be interesting to see what Lazard’s return does to Tonyan’s fantasy value, it can’t really hurt it at this point.

All and all this should be a decent fantasy night for a few guys you may not have been expecting to have much value coming into the season. Injuries have plagued the SF locker room, but GB has lost some All Pro caliber players as well. The line has GB -7 and an O/U of 48.5. I think the O/U is spot on, I’d have a hard time betting that this week, especially given the injuries, but the GB -7 I would hammer the Packers to cover all day long. Rodgers doesn’t often lose two games in a row, and he usually comes out looking for blood. I’d bet that line now before Jones/Lazard end up active and that spread moves.

As always, best of luck to both squads and let’s see if we can make it through one whole game without a devastating injury!

Stay Fluid, Stay Loose.

UPDATE (4:04 PM EST): Aaron Jones says he can play, he feels fine, ultimate decision will be made pregame by the GB medical staff. We saw this earlier this season with Davante Adams and they held him out, let’s see what they do this time.

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