49ers vs. Rams Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 1

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 1 matchup between the 49ers and Rams in Australia.

Find a breakdown of every Week 1 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

Trust = spike production for that player

49ers vs. Rams Fantasy Quarterback Preview

Matthew Stafford

Stafford is coming off winning the league's MVP Award, leading the NFL in passing yards (4,707 yards) and passing touchdowns (46).

Sean McVay altered his offense last season to adjust to the current defensive climate.

Stafford played a career-high 59.6% of his snaps under center last year, the highest mark in the league.

He took 250 dropbacks under center.

The next closest quarterback was at 189.

As a byproduct of playing more under center, Stafford used play action on a career-high 36.7% of his pass attempts, which also led the league.

On his under-center dropbacks, Stafford used play action 86.1% of the time.

Stafford threw 20 touchdowns to 1 interception on those dropbacks.

Gamers are more knowledgeable than ever about pricing in expected regression, as shown by Stafford's draft cost this summer.

I believe any expected regression will have to wait and am handling Stafford as a strong QB1 option in Week 1.

Stafford lit up the 49ers last year with scoring weeks of QB8 (25.6 points) and QB2 (26.9 points).

He threw for 8.1 yards per pass attempt in two outings against San Francisco, throwing 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

This San Francisco defense has a lot of question marks entering 2026, especially on the pass rush.

Nick Bosa appears to be still short of 100%.

The 49ers may just have been cautious with him, but Bosa did not practice in full over the final three weeks of training camp.

He's had three ACL surgeries.

If Bosa is short of being a full-go or a part-time pass rusher to open the year, the surrounding pass rush will need to be significantly better than a year ago.

The 49ers were 31st in pressure rate without Bosa on the field last year and had the worst sack rate in the NFL (3.4%) for the year.

It was only the preseason, but the 49ers had the lowest pressure rate of any team during the exhibition period (22.2%).

Mykel Williams is on the PUP to open the season.

Outside of Bosa, the 49ers will be counting on generating a rush with Keion White, third-round rookie Romello Height, and Osa Odighizuwa.

The 49ers sacked Stafford only twice in those two games.

From a clean pocket in those games, Stafford was 41 of 58 (70.7%) for 480 yards (8.3 Y/A) with 6 touchdowns.

If there is a wild card here, it is that San Francisco has brought in Raheem Morris as defensive coordinator, who is no stranger to this offense.

Morris coached for McVay from 2021 through 2023.

With Atlanta last year, Morris and Jeff Ulbrich did give Stafford some trouble.

In that game, Stafford completed 57.9% of his passes (he only had two games with a lower rate) for 7.1 Y/A with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

In that game, the Falcons pressured Stafford on 46.3% of his dropbacks despite blitzing 24.4% of the time.

I worry this defense applies the same type of pressure without pressing the action, which can expose them to big plays if they overextend to generate a pass rush with extra pass rushers.

When Stafford was blitzed and the pass rush failed to get pressure, he produced a gaudy 9.6 yards per pass attempt with 24 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Brock Purdy

After winning only six games in 2024, San Francisco bounced back with a 12-5 record last season.

That was an achievement considering they had another injury-filled campaign.

Purdy only played nine games.

The pass catchers were a revolving door again.

George Kittle (6 missed games), Ricky Pearsall (8), and Jauan Jennings (2) all missed multiple games, while Brandon Aiyuk never showed up.

Despite that, San Francisco was third in success rate on offense (46.3%) and sixth in points per drive (2.53).

And this was while the 49ers were 24th in rushing offense, the worst ranking a Shanahan offense has had since 2011, when he was in Washington.

After returning to the lineup in Week 11, Purdy completed 70.6% of his passes (2nd), averaged 7.5 yards per pass attempt (8th), and posted a 7.6% touchdown rate (2nd).

A league-high 46.4% of his passes resulted in a first down or a touchdown over that stretch, while the league rate was 34.2%.

Purdy was once again at the top of the league in completion rate when pushing the ball downfield.

Purdy completed a league-high 61.1% of his throws 10 or more yards downfield.

He led the league in that department in 2024 as well, finishing second in 2023 among qualifiers for the league's passer rating.

Finishing as the QB8, QB12, and QB6 in points per game over the past three seasons, Purdy has a 7% touchdown rate in three of the past four years.

I am going to have Purdy near his ADP in Week 1 rankings, handling him as a back-end QB1 option.

There is upside here for this game to shoot out, so Purdy still has a high-end scoring week in his range of outcomes.

I believe the 49ers will have to throw in this spot.

In the two matchups between these teams a year ago, the 49ers had dropback rates of 65% and 59%.

Purdy did not play in either of those games, but Mac Jones was a top-10 scorer in both outings, scoring 22.2 and 23.1 fantasy points.

The difference here is that the Rams have retooled on defense this offseason.

They added Myles Garrett, who is coming off setting the single-season sack record, and are getting back Aaron Donald from retirement.

Even if he is a part-time player, I expect Donald to make an impact.

Not only does the pass rush look better on paper with two future Hall of Famers on the field, but they also shored up a secondary that struggled the back half of 2026, adding Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.

The positive spin is that Purdy is getting this unit at the start of the season, during what could be an acclimation period.

Garrett has been dealing with a knee injury this preseason, and Donald has not played in two years.

This game is also overseas early in the year, which could add variance.

There is some pattern matching that may not play out, but two years ago the Eagles and Packers played a high-scoring game in Brazil.

That year, both defenses were top-six in points allowed, but due to the first week and some unique factors, the offenses had the upper hand.

49ers vs. Rams Fantasy Running Back Preview

Christian McCaffrey

When McCaffrey plays, he delivers fantasy points.

McCaffrey carried the San Francisco offense through all of the injuries last season.

He is coming off handling 76.6% of the backfield touches in 2025, which ranked third among running backs.

He had a league-high 47% of his team's offensive touches.

He led the NFL with 413 touches, producing 2,126 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns.

He was not a hyper-efficient runner but accumulated 1,202 yards and 10 scores on the ground while catching 102 passes for 924 yards and 7 touchdowns through the air.

With that, McCaffrey became the first player ever to have 2,000 yards and 100-plus receptions in multiple seasons.

LaDainian Tomlinson is the only other player to do it once.

He was on the field for a league-high 81.1% of San Francisco's dropbacks, running a league-high 511 routes.

Bijan Robinson was second with 431 routes run.

McCaffrey had a position-high 23.5% target share.

McCaffrey turned 30 this June and was managed this summer, but he is a need for the 49ers once again and is seemingly ready to go out of the gates.

Shanahan is once again saying that he will alleviate McCaffrey's workload this offseason.

Still, we have heard that before while McCaffrey racks up late touches in already-decided games.

McCaffrey had 40 touches in the fourth quarter with San Francisco ahead by 8 or more points last season, which was second in the NFL behind Zach Charbonnet (43).

I am handling McCaffrey as a volume-based RB1 here, with added floor in full-PPR formats.

His touchdown equity can also help in a potentially tough spot.

While the Rams had issues last season on the back end, they were still a solid unit against running backs.

The Rams allowed 4.2 yards per carry to backfields, which was 14th in the league.

They also allowed only 6 rushing touchdowns, the third-fewest.

In two games against the Rams, McCaffrey rushed 34 times for 87 yards (2.6 YPC) with 0 touchdowns.

The 49ers still have question marks at left guard entering the opener, expecting to start fourth-rounder Carver Willis against a team that just added Donald and has Poona Ford on the interior.

McCaffrey was able to elevate his floor in those two matchups through the air.

In the first matchup, he caught 8 of 9 targets for 82 yards and a touchdown.

In the second, he grabbed 8 of 10 targets for 66 yards.

Kyren Williams & Blake Corum

The Los Angeles running game was excellent in 2025.

Their backfield combined to rush for:

• 4.9 yards per attempt (3rd)
• 0.04 EPA per rush (1st)
• 49.4% success rate (1st)
• 29.3% resulted in a first down or touchdown (1st)
• 11.9% rate of runs for 10 or more yards (4th)
• 12.3% of runs failed to gain yardage (2nd)

The Rams operated with a more split backfield to close last season than we have seen from them in recent years.

Over the final 12 games of the season, Kyren Williams tallied 197 touches (59.3% of the backfield touches) for 1,047 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Blake Corum handled 126 touches (37.9%) for 640 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Both backs were equally efficient runners.

Out of 49 running backs with 100 or more attempts, Williams (49.8%) and Corum (48.3%) ranked first and second in success rate.

Corum produced a first down or touchdown on 30.3% of his runs (2nd) while Williams was at 28.6% (4th).

Corum was a bit more efficiency-based than Williams, since he was more sensitive to game scripts, but he made up for that with a 15.8% rate of runs of 10 or more yards, second in the league.

If the Rams underachieve or trail at a higher rate than expected, Williams has an added edge over Corum.

Williams was still the back the Rams used when trailing by a wide gap.

The Rams ran the ball on 47.5% of Corum's snaps, compared to 38.3% for Williams.

Corum ran a pass route on 18.6% of the team's dropbacks, compared to 56% for Williams.

Williams played 75.2% of snaps with the Rams tied or trailing, while Corum played 24.4%.

That may not be a huge factor here as the Rams are favored and the 49ers still have concerns up front.

They did add Osa Odighizuwa on the inside, but they still will be without Mykel Williams for at least the opening month.

Without Williams on the field last season, the 49ers allowed 4.9 YPC to running backs (29th) with a league-worst 52.3% success rate.

They allowed a first down or touchdown on 27.4% of backfield runs on those snaps, which was 30th in the league.

In the first matchup between these teams with Mykel Williams active, Kyren Williams handled 22 touches for 131 total yards and 2 touchdowns.

In the second matchup, which was a one-sided Rams victory, Williams had 16 touches for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns while Corum handled 13 touches for 56 yards.

Williams is a strong RB2 with matchup upside while Corum is a matchup-based FLEX, needing a touchdown to carry his upside.

49ers vs. Rams Fantasy Wide Receiver Preview

Puka Nacua

Nacua has had an adventurous offseason off the field, and he has missed most of the preseason with a psoas injury.

That is a lower back ailment, something I will admit I had to look up.

Missing so much of the preseason does add the potential that Nacua could be eased into things a bit, but he got back on the practice field last week and appears on track and ready to play heading into the opener.

Nacua is coming off another incredible season, leading the league in receptions (129) with 1,715 yards (2nd) and 10 touchdowns (tied for 6th).

Nacua led the league in yards per route run (3.71), target rate per route (35.9%), and fantasy points per route (0.81).

Even with Davante Adams on the field last season (310 routes), Nacua was targeted on 35.8% of his routes with 3.51 yards per route run.

Nacua is a sturdy WR1 option as long as he is close to 100%.

This game has shootout potential.

In his two games against the 49ers last season, Nacua had 10-85-1 (12 targets) and 5-64-1 (6 targets) lines.

Davante Adams

Adams had a solid year in his first season with the Rams, catching 60 passes for 789 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns at age 33.

Despite the solid production, Adams averaged 56.4 yards per game, his fewest since 2015.

But he more than made up for a dip in yardage through immense touchdown equity.

Even though he missed the final three weeks of the season, Adams led the league in touchdowns.

He had 28 end-zone targets, the most recorded since that data was tracked.

The next closest player last season had 18.

If there is expected touchdown regression through the air for the Rams, then Adams stands to be most affected.

37.7% of his fantasy points came from touchdowns, the highest rate in the league.

While regression is expected, not all regression is a boogeyman.

Outside of the touchdown production, Adams still held strong peripherals, and the Rams have not added anything noteworthy to their target tree this offseason.

Adams was targeted on 27.8% of his routes, which was WR8 last season.

He had 29.8% of the team's targets when he was on the field.

Even outside of the red zone, Adams was targeted on 25.3% of his routes.

Believing that Stafford is in a good spot, Adams is a strong WR2 with touchdown upside here.

In his two outings against the 49ers last year, Adams had games of 5-88-0 (11 targets) and 6-77-1 (8 targets).

Mike Evans

One of the league's most consistent producers is coming off his worst season in the pros, catching 30 of 62 targets (a career-low 48.4% catch rate) for 368 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Evans only appeared in eight games last season, dealing with a hamstring injury and a broken clavicle.

The biggest question is whether San Francisco (and gamers) are trying to catch a falling knife.

Evans will be 33 and had an efficiency dip across the board.

His 1.62 yards per route run were the fewest of his career.

He also posted the lowest rate of targets to produce a first down or a touchdown in his career (37.1%).

Baker Mayfield‘s efficiency fell off as he dealt with injuries, so that is something of a hall pass for Evans.

Despite playing through multiple ailments, Evans still commanded target opportunities.

His 27.3% target rate per route was his highest since 2016 and good for WR8 on the season among wideouts with 200-plus routes run.

Joining a San Francisco offense with a wide-open target tree, I would bet on Evans to be a target earner once again.

George Kittle is returning from an Achilles injury he suffered in the postseason, raising questions about how much he will play early in the season.

Ricky Pearsall is out for the season.

Jauan Jennings (90 targets) and Kendrick Bourne (53 targets) are gone.

Even if Evans did lose a step, he'll be asked to win in ways he is still capable of: running slants, digs, and outs.

The X position in this offense has produced some high-value targets for Brandon Aiyuk and even Pearsall when he was available last year.

This passing game extracts efficiency from anyone, let alone a future Hall of Famer.

We still have to price in his age and injury history, which is why I am handling Evans as a boom-or-bust WR2/WR3 in the opener.

This preseason, the 49ers were cautious with Evans as he dealt with quad, groin, and core injuries.

The 49ers could ease him into action since he did not appear in any preseason game.

We also have Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson added on the perimeter for the Rams.

That said, Evans can still be a touchdown-based option, similar to what Adams was for the Rams last season.

If Evans does end up limited in Week 1, he will still play in high-leverage spots.

When Evans was on the field last season, he commanded 58.3% of the Tampa Bay end-zone targets.

In 2024, Evans was second in the league in end-zone targets (18).

Since entering the league, Purdy has completed 45.1% of his throws into the end zone.

That is fourth in the league.

In 2025, that rate was 46.2% (QB9) while Mac Jones was first (58.3%).

De'Zhaun Stribling

No player raised their fantasy stock this offseason more than Stribling.

Selected at No. 33 overall, Stribling had one of the lightest statistical profiles of any wide receiver selected in the first two rounds.

He never posted 900 yards receiving over five college seasons.

He scored at least 5 touchdowns in four of his five college seasons, but never more than 6.

These profiles don't often hit when they're more film-based than based on objective production.

Since 2000, 14 other wide receivers have been selected in the first two rounds with career production scores below the 50th percentile in my prospect model (Stribling is at the 44th percentile).

Those players were Mecole Hardman, Xavier Legette, Curtis Samuel, Ricky Pearsall, Christian Watson, Germie Bernard, Jack Bech, Van Jefferson, Kadarius Toney, Adonai Mitchell, Dante Pettis, Henry Ruggs, Alec Pierce, and Jonathan Mingo.

Stribling is the third Kyle Shanahan receiver in that bucket, which is not filled with hits.

That said, Stribling is a measured athlete with more production to back it up than most of the names above.

At 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds, Stribling ran a 4.36 forty (95th percentile speed score).

He created 7.3 yards after the catch per reception (WR7 in this class) with only 20% of his targets at the line of scrimmage (WR23).

A natural fit for the Shanahan system, Stribling lands in an offense suited for his playstyle.

This preseason, Stribling caught 11 of 13 targets for 109 yards.

He was targeted on 59.1% of his routes.

That is the highest rate for any rookie wide receiver in the preseason over the past 10 years who ran at least 20 routes.

The top 10 on that list have had some hits.

After Stribling, the next names are Daniel Sobkowicz (42.9%), Tank Dell (40.9%), Amon-Ra St. Brown (40%), Austin Duke (38.7%), Romeo Doubs (38.5%), Dede Westbrook (37.8%), Efton Chism (36.8%), Richie James (36.4%), and Garrett Wilson (36.4%).

While Stribling is in a low-percentile group of peers for hitting, this setup is strong for making a low-percentage swing.

Stribling has a strong attachment in terms of quarterback and play-calling, and his surrounding group of teammates all carry red flags due to age and injury concerns.

The question marks for 2026 output are all based on how much he can get on the field.

The 49ers are second-to-last in the NFL in 11-personnel usage since Shanahan joined the team.

In the preseason, 52.9% of Stribling's routes were from the slot while he only ran 3 of his 22 routes in 1- or 2-wide receiver sets.

In the one outing in which we saw Purdy play, Stribling was on the field for 4 snaps while Deebo Samuel was on the field for 7 and Demarcus Robinson for 6.

That said, Purdy targeted Stribling on 3 of those 4 routes.

We have not seen Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, or Kyle Juszczyk play yet, so Stribling has plenty of volatility for snaps, even before accounting for Samuel and Robinson making an impact.

But even if Stribling is relegated to 11 personnel to open the year, this is a matchup where I believe the 49ers will have to throw the football, as highlighted with Purdy.

Given the potential game environment, a path for the 49ers to play more 11 personnel, and Evans and Kittle returning from injuries, Stribling has appeal as a WR3/FLEX.

49ers WRs

While Stribling has been the talk of the preseason, both Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson should be expected to find the field on Thursday.

While I believe he will be more of a thorn for other players in this offense, reuniting with Shanahan in San Francisco is a best-case scenario for Samuel to have one more season of weekly upside.

In a terrible Washington offense last season, Samuel was targeted on 22.7% of his routes (WR30) for 1.66 yards per route run (WR42), so he still has something left.

The question is how much ceiling is there overall?

Samuel did run a route on 100% of Purdy's 7 dropbacks in the preseason, receiving 2 targets.

If throwing a dart in single-game DFS or as a deep-league FLEX, I would side with Samuel.

Robinson was on the field for 6 of those plays, but that was also without Evans active.

He is likely Evans' primary backup at X.

Rams WRs

There isn't much to grasp here beyond Nacua and Adams.

Last year, the Rams were in 11 personnel for 58.7% of their snaps, the lowest rate of the McVay era.

After Nacua and Adams, Jordan Whittington was on the field for the third-most routes, which was only 32.1% of the team's dropbacks.

The Rams brought back Tutu Atwell at the end of preseason, but any wide receiver here is a thin play, even in single-game DFS.

49ers vs. Rams Fantasy Tight End Preview

George Kittle

It is wild to think that Kittle has a shot at playing in Week 1 after an Achilles injury in the playoffs, but he is tracking to be active.

Kittle was productive again last year when he was available, averaging 5.2 receptions for 57.1 yards per game with 7 touchdowns.

He posted 2.18 yards per route run, which ranked third among tight ends with 200-plus routes last year.

He was third in fantasy points per route (0.56).

Kittle was targeted on 24% of his routes, which ranked fourth among his position.

He was still efficient last year, but the injuries may be catching up.

Kittle averaged a career-low 11.0 yards per catch and a career-low 4.4 yards after the catch per reception.

That was nearly two full yards lower than his previous low mark after the catch, which was 6.2 YAC per reception in 2020.

He will turn 33 this October and is coming off a major injury.

The question early on is how much will Kittle play?

Will he be a full-go, or will they bring him on slowly?

I would lean toward the latter, given his injury history and the 49ers' longer view beyond Week 1.

If Kittle is active, he can still play in high-leverage situations but is a boom-or-bust fantasy swing.

If Kittle is held out for Week 1, then Jake Tonges has appeal as a TE2.

Tonges was solid when filling in for Kittle last season, catching 34 passes for 293 yards (8.6 yards per catch) and 5 touchdowns.

Not nearly as dynamic in the passing game, Tonges was targeted on 19.8% of his routes, averaging 1.28 yards per route run with Kittle sidelined in 2025.

The Rams were tough on tight ends last year, ranking sixth in points allowed per target to the position, but the San Francisco tight ends had success.

Tonges caught 7 of 11 targets for 41 yards and a touchdown in the Week 5 matchup without Kittle (and a host of other receivers unavailable).

Kittle then came back with 9 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown in the Week 10 matchup.

Rams TEs

The Rams maxed out the tight end room last season.

Los Angeles tight ends combined for 150 targets (5th), 103 receptions (7th), 1,128 yards (4th), and a league-high 17 touchdowns.

The Rams utilized all of their tight ends by deploying a league-high 30.5% 13-personnel rate.

The next-closest team last year was at 13.3%.

Colby Parkinson led the unit in targets (56), receptions (43), yards (408), and touchdowns (8), running a route on 39.2% of the dropbacks.

Parkinson was targeted on 22.9% of his routes with 1.67 yards per route run, both team highs.

Tyler Higbee was targeted on 19% of his routes for 1.49 yards per route.

The team retained him on a one-year contract.

Davis Allen was second among the tight ends with a route on 31% of the dropbacks.

Allen was targeted on 17% of his routes for 1.07 yards per route.

Terrance Ferguson played the least among the tight ends (26.9% of the dropbacks), but his role was the most dynamic and masked some of that 13-personnel in certain looks with him on the field.

Ferguson only played 49% of his snaps in-line, playing 26.3% in the slot and 22.7% out wide.

He averaged 18.6 air yards per target with 56% of his targets coming on throws 20 or more yards downfield.

Ferguson has drawn a lot of buzz this preseason, with whispers that he will be the de facto WR3 in the offense.

Ferguson’s per-target upside gives him the most appeal as an upside TE2 and single-game DFS play, while Parkinson is a touchdown-dependent TE2.

The Rams were in 13 personnel for 44.8% of their snaps the last time these teams met in Week 10 a year ago.

In that game, Parkinson and Allen each caught touchdowns, and the group combined for 10 catches for 114 yards.

It is worth noting that Fred Warner did not play in that game.

In the Week 5 matchup with Warner on the field, Rams tight ends had 3 catches for 45 yards.

The 49ers have been a stingy unit against tight ends whenever Warner has played.

Since Warner entered the league, the 49ers have allowed a league-low 6.4 yards per target to tight ends.

With Warner on the field last season, the 49ers allowed 5.8 yards per target to tight ends.

With him off the field, they allowed 7.0 yards per target.

On top of having Warner to start the season, the 49ers also brought back Dre Greenlaw.

More Week 1 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet: