49ers, Packers Divisional Round Fantasy Football Takeaways: Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Jordan Love, Aaron Jones and More

The Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs opened with a pair of games on Saturday.

Let’s look into the second game of the day, a matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers, and discuss some things from a fantasy football perspective. We already looked at the Divisional Round game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.

49ers Deliver Late

It was a pretty ugly showing for the 49ers’ offense, but a late touchdown drive helped the host prevail 24-21. San Fran tallied 356 total yards.

Quarterback Brock Purdy struggled to get going in rainy conditions. He was 23-of-39 for 252 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Purdy rushed six times for 14 yards.

While Purdy avoided any turnovers, he got away with some poorly-thrown balls - one that should have been a pick-six early in the game. At the end of the day, it was a pretty solid fantasy outing though.

Purdy definitely showed some limitations during the game, but he delivered late to help his team move on. He’s going to have a pretty favorable matchup ahead regardless of which team wins Sunday, but we’ll cover that later this week in an outlook article, so check back for that.

Christian McCaffrey was the best performer on the San Fran offense all night. He rushed 27 times for 98 yards and two touchdowns. McCaffrey was targeted 12 times in the passing game, catching seven for an additional 30 yards.

Everyone knows that McCaffrey is going to be heavily involved every week, but he still continues to deliver and be a fantasy star. With the way Purdy looked this week, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team’s next opponent stacks the box to slow McCaffrey. He’ll still be a good starting option because of his pass-catching ability out of the backfield.

Deebo Samuel left the contest early with a shoulder injury. Before leaving, he caught both of his targets for 24 yards. He only played nine offensive snaps, and his playing status for the conference championship is going to likely be up in the air going into the game. Maybe the extra day before the team’s next game will help Samuel get back out there, where at the very least, he can be a decoy on offense.

Surprisingly, Brandon Aiyuk didn’t capitalize without Samuel around. Aiyuk only had 32 yards on three catches and six targets. Jauan Jennings took advantage of some extra playing time, going for 61 yards on five grabs and six targets.

Tight end George Kittle had the best outing amongst the pass catchers, going for 81 yards and a touchdown on four catches and seven targets.

It was a pretty underwhelming day for all the pass catchers - outside Kittle - but it will be hard not to start them in a more favorable matchup next week. Again, we’ll cover that later in the week, so be sure to check back for that.

Packers Can’t Finish, Little Mistakes Add Up

The Packers didn’t have terrible numbers on the night, but two turnovers and a missed field goal turned out to be the costly things that worked against the team. Green Bay finished with 330 total yards of offense.

Quarterback Jordan Love was 21-of-34 on the night. He had 194 passing yards, two touchdowns but two interceptions (both of which came in the second half). Love rushed five times, but for only 3 yards.

It was not one of Love’s finer games this season, but it also wasn’t his worst. One of the interceptions he threw bounced off a receiver’s hands, while the second pick was a desperation heave in the final minute. For as much as he didn’t look like a first-year starter this season, he showed signs of it in this contest.

Love still did enough to earn himself a long-term deal in Green Bay, and he looks locked into being the team’s franchise quarterback. After not getting a ton of love in fantasy drafts this season, he should be among the second or third tier of QBs taken going into next season. He might look like a strong value pick, but the hype might have him taken earlier than expected.

Running back Aaron Jones continued his late season surge with another 100+ yard showing. He rushed 18 times for 108 yards and caught half of his six targets for 8 yards.

Jones had a tough season, missing several games with injuries and not being super efficient in several others. Jones rushed for over 100 yards in the team’s final five games this season, and that might have been enough to have him back in Green Bay next season as the No. 1 option. 

Teammate AJ Dillon, who also was banged up throughout the season (and this game), is a free agent, so unless he’s brought back, I expect the Packers to either add a running back through the draft or free agency. Jones will still have some fantasy value going into next season, and his injury concerns might allow you to get him later in drafts, which could turn Jones into a steal if he delivers solid numbers again.

The Packers’ pass catchers shared the load this season, and did again on Saturday night.

Romeo Doubs led the team for a second straight game, catching four of his six targets for 83 yards. Jayden Reed bounced back from a catchless showing in the previous game with 46 total yards on five touches against San Fran.

Bo Melton caught a 19-yard touchdown on his lone target. Christian Watson had an 11-yard catch on his two targets. Dontayvion Wicks finished with no catches on two targets. 

Tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft each finished with three catches. Musgrave had 14 yards across his four targets, while Kraft had nine yards and a touchdown across his six targets.

While several guys were involved, there weren't a lot of big fantasy outings, which was a theme for the pass catchers all season. Different guys led the way pretty much every week, which is great for a real football team, but a nightmare for fantasy owners. 

Reed looks like he has the most potential, especially from a fantasy perspective because he’s used fairly often as a ball carrier. Injury concerns might allow fantasy owners to get him later in drafts before next season starts.

Doubs and Watson came into the year as the top-two options at receiver. Doubs had a fine season, while Watson struggled with injuries. Wicks and Melton also enjoyed strong outings this season. 

It gives the team at least five reliable wide receivers going into next season. It’d be awesome for fantasy owners if we knew who might turn into the No. 1 option, but that probably won’t happen during the offseason. Reed, Watson and Doubs should be the Green Bay receivers drafted, but Wicks and Melton might also get some love, especially in deeper leagues.

As for the tight end spot, Musgrave was the starter most of the season before suffering an injury, which allowed Kraft to deliver some solid outings. I’m not sure there’s going to be a clear starter at TE going into next season, which might mean both guys go undrafted in standard leagues.

In other words, the Packers’ offense has a ton of pass-catching options, but there’s no clear and obvious fantasy stars that will go early in fantasy drafts. There will be some owners that try to hit gold in the middle to later rounds with some of these guys, but unless one of these guys improves drastically over the offseason, it might be more balanced showings in the future for this Packers’ offense.