Fantasy Football 2018: Alfred Morris or Matt Breida in SF?
By Bill Pivetz
With Jerick McKinnon done for the season, should you target Alfred Morris or Matt Breida from the 49ers backfield?
The San Francisco 49ers looked to be on a resurgence. They traded for Jimmy Garoppolo and signed running back Jerick McKinnon to a four-year deal. Unfortunately, the team will be without McKinnon for the season with a torn ACL. Do fantasy football owners target Alfred Morris or Matt Breida?
Breida has been with the 49ers for one season. As Carlos Hyde‘s backup, he racked up 465 yards and two touchdowns on 105 carries. Breida also had 21 receptions for 180 yards and another touchdown.
The 49ers have Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin at wide receiver and the combination of Garrett Celek and George Kittle at tight end. Having a pass-catching running back to complement the average receivers in San Francisco will help the young quarterback.
Morris has been around for six seasons. He played four full seasons with the Washington Redskins before signing with the Cowboys as a backup for two years. In his time in Washington, he racked up 4,713 yards and 29 touchdowns on 1,078 carries. He had 47 total receptions for 365 yards.
Morris isn’t the pass-catching running back Breida is but he’s a more effective runner. He averaged 4.4 yards per attempt and 73.6 yards per game with the Redskins. While he is 29-plus years old, not playing much with the Cowboys may have helped him this season. It kept his legs fresh for a full workload.
ESPN’s fantasy football expert Matthew Berry believes Morris is the San Francisco running back to own.
Alfred Morris averages 4.51 YPC & 13.61 PPG for his career when getting 15+ carries. Give him 16 games & that would have been RB11 last season (total points). Also - over the 2 years he was in WSH under Kyle Shanahan he was a top 10 RB. Breida is not built to be an every down RB
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) September 1, 2018
Breida was recently cleared for action after recovering from a separated shoulder. This should give Morris a clear path to 15-plus carries, at least for Week 1. Once Breida is 100 percent, there will be a split but the percentage is unknown.
Our partners over at Niner Noise believe the 49ers will look to the free agent market for a McKinnon replacement. With the season just a few days away, I don’t expect them to make a move. The combination of Morris and Breida will be enough to complement Garoppolo and the passing game.
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For fantasy football purposes, I would look to take a late-draft flyer on Morris. If you already drafted, he’s worth dropping your sixth running back or wide receiver for. The offense will move through the air with Morris keeping defenses honest. He’s already owned in 38 percent of ESPN leagues. Breida is at 42 percent.