Jordan Mason looks primed to continue running the ball effectively, and that should have fantasy owners salivating in Week 3 against the Rams.
If you, like me, drafted San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey with the first overall pick in your fantasy football league, you are probably a little frustrated that he is going to be out basically the entire first half of the 2024 season.
However, if you were smart (not to toot my own horn but, like me) and either drafted running back Jordan Mason with one of your last picks or picked him up at some point as a handcuff, you have been in good luck.
Mason has performed very well so far this season. Niner fans saw how strong he looked in the preseason and have seen him have some excellent runs in the past, so it has not come as a huge shock to us. But to more casual NFL fans who probably never heard of Mason he has been a revelation.
In Week 1 against the New York Jets, Mason scored 22.2 points in ESPN's fantasy scoring format. Then, in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings, he followed it up with another strong performance, scoring 17.4 points.
Mason is projected to score 19.3 points against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in Week 3, and it is easy to understand why. The Rams allowed a total of 231 rushing yards against the Arizona Cardinals in their Week 2 matchup.
The 49ers are likely to lean heavily on Mason and their running game, considering they will definitely not have wide receiver Deebo Samuel on the field and very well may not have tight end George Kittle on the field either.
Without two of their best pass-catchers, it would not be surprising to see them run the ball a lot.
The only potential problem would be if the Rams stack the box expecting the run, which forces head coach Kyle Shanahan to adjust and try more play-action passes down the field. Even if that is the case, Mason will probably get at least 20 touches in the game, and we have seen how explosive he can be, so even him breaking off one run is all he needs to both help the Niners and help your fantasy lineup.
