Don’t Start Tyrod Taylor or Colin Kaepernick This Week
By Dennis Moody
Don’t start Tyrod Taylor or Colin Kaepernick this week in Fantasy Football. Both players belong on the waiver wire in most leagues.
The big story around the NFL this week is that the San Francisco 49ers decided to bench Blaine Gabbert in favor of Colin Kaepernick who has made plenty of noise this season. That noise hasn’t been due to his play but because of his silent protest of kneeling during the national anthem.
San Fransisco has struggled mightily throwing the ball with Blaine Gabbert who averaged just 170 yards per game. That is the second worst average in the entire league. The worst in the league you ask? Have you been watching Bills games? It’s Buffalo who averages one less yard per game at 169 yards. These two teams are in a class of their own as the only two teams averaging less than 200 net passing yards per game.
The major difference here is Buffalo has gotten out to early leads in several of their games and have used their running attack to keep the clock running to reduce possessions. On the other hand, after a Week 1 shutout victory against the Rams, the 49ers have been getting crushed losing by a combined 57 points over the past four weeks. They could have used an effective passing game to help try to get back in some of those games but they have been unable to get anything going through the air.
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Colin Kaepernick is a stronger running quarterback than Gabbert but Blaine can run too. In fact, he has more rushing yards (172) this season than Tyrod Taylor (168). Granted that’s with 50 percent more attempts than Taylor but it’s still surprising.
Kaepernick is a complete wildcard this week. The last time he saw action in an NFL game was over 11 months ago. He had three offseason surgeries, and with his vegan diet, it has been difficult for him to gain back his weight. According to the San Fransisco Chronicle he said, “I think it’s the fact that my weight isn’t where it was. My strength is still growing, developing. But, once again, I’m always going to be prepared. Always ready to put it on the line for this team.”
Buffalo has the fourth-most sacks in the league so Kaepernick better have his strength back if he wants to complete the game. Another interesting thing to see will be if he’s in “game shape”. Under Chip Kelly, the 49ers have the fastest offense in the league running a play every 24.14 seconds according to Football Outsiders. If Kaepernick fatigues it could alter the way they run their offense.
San Francisco should struggle to move the ball against the Bills this week which means two things: Buffalo has a good chance to take an early lead again and they should win the overall time of possession battle. If the Bills go up early, don’t expect Tyrod Taylor to chuck the ball much. Week 3 against the Patriots was the only time he completed more than 20 passes and he’s thrown for over 200 yards just twice in five weeks.
Since Sammy Watkins was placed on injured reserve, Taylor’s top two receiving targets, Robert Woods and Charles Clay, haven’t been able to produce over fifty yards receiving in the same week. Until Buffalo can get both of these players to produce at the same time, Taylor will continue to be a quarterback who you can’t start in fantasy leagues. Currently, he averages the 20th most points per week in standard yahoo leagues.
One could argue that since the 49ers have let up an average (yes average) of 35 points over the past four weeks that this could be a good week to start Tyrod. The problem with that thought is the 49ers have been gashed by the run, not the pass.
They give up the second most rushing yards per game (146.8) but just the 10th fewest passing yards per game (222.8). This goes back to the point of them playing from behind so most teams are running on them to close out games.
Next: 49ers to Start Colin Kaepernick vs. Buffalo Bills
If you’re a huge “Kaep” fan and want to stash him on your roster just in case he regains his old form that’s your prerogative but this week against a tough Buffalo defense he should be on your bench at best.
For Taylor, if you like to have a quarterback on your bench (I don’t) there are worse people to have based on Tyrod’s upside with his legs. However, so far this season, you’re better off putting him on waivers and opening up a bench spot for someone who has been more productive.