Week 6 Thursday Night Fantasy Football Takeaways: Jordan Mason Injured in 49ers Win | How to Approach DK Metcalf After Another Down Showing

Week 6 of the NFL season is underway after the San Francisco 49ers took down the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night. Let’s go over some fantasy football takeaways from the contest.

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Team Stats

San Francisco used 13-point second and fourth quarters to prevail 36-24 over Seattle.

The 49ers racked up 483 total yards, while the Seahawks had 358 yards. The Niners had 255 passing yards and 228 rushing yards, while the Seahawks had 312 passing yards and 52 rushing yards.

Seattle turned the ball over three times, while San Fran didn’t have a turnover. The Seahawks gave up the game’s only sack and were flagged nine times, while the Niners were called for five penalties.

Samuel, Kittle Lead Passing Game

Brock Purdy finished 18-of-28 for 255 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He added 19 rushing yards on four attempts, but most importantly, didn’t have any turnovers. That helped Purdy deliver one of his better fantasy showings of the season.

With some inconsistent performances so far, Purdy’s start/sit decisions still come down to his defensive matchups, but this game should help him be part of more starting lineups going forward. 

Purdy spread the ball around, connecting on passes with seven different players.

Deebo Samuel Sr. led the team with 102 yards and a touchdown on just three catches and five targets. He caught a 76-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Samuel also had 15 rushing yards on four attempts.

George Kittle went for 58 yards and two touchdowns on five grabs and six targets. His first TD came on a 10-yard pass, while the second score was on a nine-yard pass.

Kittle has been fantastic in the five games he’s played this season. He has at least 40 yards and four catches in each game, while also averaging a touchdown per game. He’ll be in the running for the top fantasy TE this season if he doesn’t miss too many more games. Get him in your starting lineups no matter what.

Samuel’s production has been up and down across his five games played. He topped 100 yards for the second time this season, but also was coming off a 20-yard showing the previous week. His two other games were at 72 and 77 total yards, which is a pretty average mark that fantasy owners would hope he gets to weekly.

On a team with as many offensive playmakers as the Niners have, some inconsistent showings are going to happen from time to time for Samuel, but I still think he’ll remain a pretty solid starting option for the remainder of the season.

Aiyuk, Jennings Held in Check

While Samuel and Kittle had big fantasy showings, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings had underwhelming nights.

Aiyuk got just four targets, making two catches for 37 yards. Jennings was held to 27 yards on three catches and five targets.

It was the second-lowest yardage output for Aiyuk this season, and third time he’s had two catches in a game. He played 62 of the team’s 65 offensive snaps, but simply wasn’t heavily involved.

He looked like he was on the right track after a 147-yard showing in week 5, but now might not even be started in a bunch of standard leagues for week 7. Aiyuk has good fantasy upside, but his inconsistent showings make it really tough to trust him.

Jennings fared better than he did in week 5, but it was still a below-average fantasy outing. With Samuel and Kittle back in the picture, Jennings looks to be reverting back to more of a secondary option. 

He could still post decent fantasy scores with a big gain or touchdown, but those will be hard to predict. Jennings should only be a starting option in really deep leagues if Samuel, Kittle and Aiyuk are all playing.

Mason Delivers Again, but Suffers Injury

Jordan Mason continued his fine season by going for 73 rushing yards on nine carries and added a nine-yard reception on his two targets. He only played 18 snaps though, and that’s because he suffered a shoulder injury.

Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor helped carry the Niners to the finish line. Guerendo had 99 yards on 10 carries, with a long run of 76 to help seal the win. Taylor had 16 rushing yards on five carries and a 12-yard reception his lone target.

Kyle Juszczyk added a six-yard rushing touchdown and caught three of his four targets for 10 yards. He played 42 snaps, while Guerendo got 17 and Taylor 16.

Mason does have some extra time to get ready before the team’s week 7 game, but if he can’t go, it will be interesting to see what the Niners do. We’re still awaiting the return of Christian McCaffrey, and he could be activated at any time after already spending the minimum four weeks on IR. 

Ideally, I think San Fran hopes to get McCaffrey back after their bye week, which would be week 10. But the injury to Mason complicates that idea. If the Niners feel confident in Guerendo, Taylor and Juszczyk (if Mason were out), then they could continue to let McCaffrey heal and get ready for the stretch run. If the team isn’t confident in that group, they might need to bring in an outside RB, or activate McCaffrey.

It’s a complicated situation, and it makes the fantasy values of McCaffrey and Mason hard to judge right now. Mason’s trade value decreases as McCaffrey gets closer and closer to a return, but the uncertainty surrounding CMC makes everything a mess. It’s anybody’s guess what will actually happen, but whatever the case, I want Mason or McCaffrey in my fantasy starting lineup if they are playing.

Seahawks’ Middling Fantasy Outings

There weren’t too many Seattle players who stood out on Thursday.

Quarterback Geno Smith had another big day in terms of passing yards (312), but with only one touchdown and two interceptions, his fantasy score wasn’t nearly as good as what you might expect. He remains on the start/sit line simply because he keeps passing so much and for so many yards.

DK Metcalf was targeted 11 times, which is a great number, but it resulted in just three catches for 48 yards. It was his second-lowest yardage total of the season - he now has three games over 100 yards and three at or under 55 yards. Metcalf will remain a good starting option in all formats because of all the targets, but these inconsistent showings might continue.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba had an OK day in PPR leagues with 53 yards on five catches and nine targets. JSN has one game over 100 yards and four under 55 yards. He’ll be a flex starting option in standard leagues, but a better deep league option until he can add some more production on a weekly basis.

Backup running back Zach Charbonnet had 35 total yards on just six touches, but without a touchdown, was a below-average fantasy performer. He got just 24 snaps out of 78 possible. Charbonnet is clearly the team’s No. 2 back, and outside deeper leagues, he’s just a handcuff option because he only gets a handful of touches per week.

Walker, Lockett, Fant have Good Outings

Kenneth Walker led the Seattle backfield with 32 rushing yards and a score on 14 attempts. He added 37 yards on eight catches and targets. 

Walker, who played 54 snaps, isn’t getting a ton of rushing attempts each game, but tacking on his catches and touchdowns, he’s a pretty good fantasy starting option every week. He might have some fantasy duds if he doesn’t get involved in the passing game, but he’d be hard not to start right now.

Tyler Lockett had four catches, 65 yards and a touchdown across eight targets. 

The touchdown kind of bailed Lockett out from having a pretty average fantasy outing. He might not have the upside of Metcalf or Smith-Njigba, but Lockett has between 45-80 receiving yards, and at least four catches, in five of six games. With just one touchdown, he’s a better deep league starting option, but he could be used in a pinch in standard PPR leagues.

Noah Fant had his best game of the season on Thursday, going for 63 yards on six catches and targets. He had one other game at 60 yards, and the other four were under 30 yards.

At a weak fantasy TE position, Fant should get some waiver wire love going into week 7. His inconsistent showings still make him a risky standard league starting option, but in the right matchups and when several other teams are on bye weeks, Fant could definitely be utilized.

IDP Standouts

San Francisco’s Fred Warner had 11 combined tackles, a forced fumble and a pass defensed. He has 50 total tackles, a sack, four forced fumbles, two interceptions and five passes defensed on the season, showing he’s an elite IDP option.

Seattle’s Julian Love had 10 combined tackles and a pass defensed. He has 46 combined tackles, a pick, three passes defensed and a forced fumble, showing he’s a really good IDP option in the secondary.

San Fran’s Renardo Green had six combined tackles, two passes defensed and an interception. He’s only recorded stats in four out of six games this season, showing this might have been more of an outlier performance. He’ll get some deep league waiver action, but should at least be watched in all leagues after the solid IDP fantasy outing.