Eric Saubert DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

San Francisco 49ers backup tight end Eric Saubert could make his fourth start of the season in Week 18 at the Arizona Cardinals. Starter George Kittle (ankle, hamstring) is listed as questionable. To date in 2024, Saubert has caught seven of nine targets for 80 yards and a touchdown. Saubert's fantasy ceiling was established in Week 2 of 2022 when he caught one of two targets for a 22-yard touchdown as a member of the Denver Broncos. The eighth-year pro has been a career fantasy nonfactor, though in Week 16 at Miami -- with Kittle on the field -- he caught his third-career touchdown. Arizona has allowed the fourth-fewest half-PPR points per game to tight ends. If Kittle plays, Saubert is unplayable. He's barely more than that if Kittle sits, other than as a bargain-bin DFS shot-in-the-dark.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Eric Saubert is on the fantasy radar for Week 11 after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that George Kittle (hamstring) is expected to be inactive Sunday. Kittle has only missed one other game this season, but in that contest, Saubert played 86 percent of the offensive snaps and caught two passes for 41 yards. While his production wasn't otherworldly, he clearly earned additional looks on offense, and that should remain true this Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Saubert finds himself ranking as a low-end TE2 at best.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Eric Saubert was minimally involved but efficient in the team's passing game during a 27-24 loss to the Rams in Los Angeles. Saubert, filling in for George Kittle (hamstring), did good work in the run-block game and caught two-of-two targets for 41 yards. There are no updates on Kittle's injury at this time, but there are no indications that he's dealing with a multiple-week injury. Even if Kittle were to miss again, it seems likely that Sunday's performance is on the high side of what might be expected from Saubert in Week 4 versus the New England Patriots.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Eric Saubert is expected to step in for George Kittle when the team is in Los Angeles to face the Rams in Week 3. Saubert, 30, spent time with six other teams before signing with San Francisco this offseason. In Week 2, Saubert saw his snaps increase as Kittle experienced cramping throughout the afternoon. The journeyman caught two of two targets for 26 yards in that one. Saubert has only two career touchdowns and has never eclipsed the five catches for 36 yards he put up as a member of the Denver Broncos in Week 5 of 2023 versus the Indianapolis Colts. If anyone can take statistical advantage of Kittle's absence, it could just as easily be fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who sometimes runs routes out the tight end position and has shown adequate ball skills and awareness for modest production in fantasy. Both Saubert and Jusczcyk could contribute in DFS if angling for a touchdown at rock-bottom prices, but one can surely do better in redraft formats regardless of league size.

The San Francisco 49ers signed free-agent tight end Eric Saubert to an undisclosed one-year deal on Monday. Saubert was initially drafted in the fifth round (174th overall) by the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 out of Drake. The 29-year-old spent the first two years of his NFL career in Atlanta before stops with the Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans. He was with the Cowboys and Texans in 2023 and caught all three of his targets for 12 yards in 10 games (one start). Saubert has 36 career receptions on 55 targets for 292 yards and two touchdowns in 84 games (16 starts) in his seven NFL seasons. In San Francisco this year, Saubert will operate as tight end depth behind starter George Kittle alongside Brayden Willis, Cameron Latu and Jake Tonges.