Even by the San Francisco 49ers' lofty standards, their injury situation entering Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons is downright ridiculous. Brock Purdy and Co. still managed a perfect 6-0 start despite Ricky Pearsall, De'Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson on IR and Brandon Aiyuk in purgatory. Now, though, Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel are also out — leaving San Francisco scrambling to find anyone for Purdy to throw the ball to on Sunday.
If anyone can do more with less, it's Purdy and Kyle Shanahan, especially with Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle still healthy. But even the most creative offenses still need someone capable of getting on the other end of passes on the outside. Who might that be in Week 7? There's one name in particular that fantasy football owners should have their eye on.
49ers WR depth chart with Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel out for Week 7 vs. Falcons
At least there's one piece of good news on the injury front for the Niners: Offseason acquisition Christian Kirk has finally been activated off of IR and looks set to make his season debut on Sunday in Atlanta. Given the healthy talent around him, he now slots immediately into the WR1 role for an undefeated team in the thick of a playoff push; no pressure.
Role | Player |
|---|---|
WR1 | Christian Kirk |
WR2 | Brandin Cooks |
WR3 | Jacob Cowing |
WR4 | Jordan Watkins |
It's hard to know what San Francisco will get from Kirk, who's been up and down throughout his NFL career and has yet to catch a single pass from Purdy. He's sort of the only option, though: Cooks is 33 years old and much more valuable as a blocker and veteran presence than a downfield threat at this point, while Cowing and Watkins have caught a grand total of 10 passes over the course of their respective careers.
Watkins in particular holds some appeal as a boundary receiver, but it's hard to expect much of anything from the aging Cooks and a gadget type like Cowing. Kirk figures to get the most volume here; the only question is whether it will be enough volume to make him startable in most fantasy formats.
49ers fantasy football outlook in Week 7: Should you start Christian Kirk?
Kirk feels like a long-shot FLEX play at most as he makes his debut on Sunday. There's just too much we don't know here, from how long it will take Kirk to get up to speed and earn Purdy's trust to how effective he'll be after such a long layoff. Add in the potential for McCaffrey and Kittle to hog touches, and there might not be that much juice left to squeeze.
He's an intriguing add moving forward, though, as he familiarizes himself with a new team and new system. Samuel has long battled injury issues. Evans is battling a dizzying array of different ailments all at once, and he's not getting any younger. Kirk could occupy the WR1 role in San Francisco by default for several weeks, and it's only a matter of time before Purdy starts looking his way more often.
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