San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey will make his first Super Bowl appearance against the Kansas City Chiefs as the top option at running back for fantasy players. The former Carolina Panther and Stanford star has torn up the NFL in his seventh year, averaging a whopping 21.7 half-PPR points in full games while only producing fewer than 15 points twice. There is little reason to believe McCaffrey won't finish the year in a similar vein especially since Kansas City's elite pass defense will probably funnel the 49ers into leaning heavily on McCaffrey in the running game. The Chiefs spent the regular season as a top-10 rush defense but McCaffrey has risen to the challenge consistently against quality rush defenses, most recently in the NFC Championship Game versus the Detroit Lions, who finished the regular season as the single toughest opponent for fantasy running backs. In that game, he went for 132 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. McCaffrey is sure to be expensive for DFS players. Still, he's as close to a sure thing as they come, especially considering it's almost impossible to imagine a game script that significantly diminishes his involvement.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy faces his toughest playoff matchup this year when he leads his team into Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium on Sunday to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. In the NFC Championship Game against Detroit, the former seventh-round pick led a historic second-half comeback but posted mediocre fantasy numbers, finishing with 267 yards passing, one touchdown, and one interception. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has the Kansas City pass defense playing their best football of the season lately, holding some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL to an average of 219 yards passing and one touchdown per game during their playoff run. In the regular season, Purdy has struggled against top pass defenses, getting intercepted four times with no touchdowns against Baltimore and being held to 125 passing yards and one touchdown back in Week 6 at Cleveland. Patrick Mahomes is the better fantasy option at quarterback in the Super Bowl, but there's a chance Purdy's DFS price drops low enough to be worth serious consideration.

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey was named the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday. McCaffrey is basically one of a kind in today's NFL. The 27-year-old not only helped lead the Niners to Super Bowl LVIII, but he was the most dynamic overall offensive player in 2023. He finished the regular season with a career-high 21 total touchdowns while totaling 2,023 yards from scrimmage in 16 games played. CMC had a league-high and career-high 1,459 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns on 272 attempts, adding 67 receptions (83 targets) for 564 receiving yards and seven TDs through the air. McCaffrey isn't without his injury risks, but when he manages to stay healthy, it's hard for any other RBs to even hold a candle to his fantasy upside.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (toe) was limited in practice again on Thursday, but head coach Kyle Shanahan reported that Kittle will be good to go for Sunday in Super Bowl LVIII to face the Kansas City Chiefs. The 30-year-old suffered a minor toe injury in the NFC Championship win over the Detroit Lions and didn't practice at all last week. However, the Niners were just giving their Pro Bowl tight end some extra rest and he's going to be just fine to play in the Super Bowl this Sunday. He shouldn't have any limitations against a strong Chiefs defense, and fantasy managers are hoping he's more involved in the passing attack after going quiet for his standards in the last contest. Kittle could easily bounce back against KC after leading all tight ends in receiving yards in the regular season.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (toe) was limited in the team's practice on Wednesday after not practicing at all last week. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said he believes Kittle will be a full-go for Thursday's practice. The 30-year-old tight end suffered a minor toe injury in the NFC Championship win over the Detroit Lions and was considered day-to-day at the start of last week. He shouldn't be in danger at all of not being able to play in the Super Bowl this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Kittle led all tight ends with just over 1,000 receiving yards during the regular season and could play a key role as the Niners look to overcome a strong Chiefs defense in Super Bowl LVIII. KC's defense was vulnerable to the position to close out the regular season, so Kittle could find some success for DFS gamers.