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Can you start Ricky Pearsall or Jauan Jennings vs. the Saints with Mac Jones at QB?

Can you start Ricky Pearsall or Jauan Jennings vs. the Saints with Mac Jones at QB?

DraftKings Fantasy Advice Season Long DFS

Published:

By: Alex Hunter

Brock Purdy is expected to miss 2-5 weeks with a turf toe variant – per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport – and with Purdy sidelined, Mac Jones ($4,000) is expected to start at quarterback for the 49ers this Sunday vs. the Saints. To make matters worse, San Francisco just placed George Kittle (hamstring) on IR earlier this week. Jennings ($4,800) is dealing with a shoulder injury as well, but he is considered day-to-day and has a chance to play Sunday, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Jennings should be active and he and Pearsall ($5,300) should see plenty of volume with Kittle sidelined. With the tight exiting early in Week 1 vs. the Seahawks, Jennings only caught two of his five targets for 16 yards (3.6 FPTS), but Pearsall caught four of his seven targets for 108 yards (17.8 FPTS). Pearsall and Jennings finished with 20.6% and 14.7% target shares, respectively. Furthermore, both wideouts saw two redzone targets and Pearsall notably lead the NFL with four targets over 20 yards.

The concern for these two receivers in Week 2 is that Jones will be under center instead of Purdy. With the Jaguars last season, Jones appeared in 10 games and made seven starts, but he struggled, throwing eight touchdowns, eight interceptions and only averaging 6.4 YPA, which ranked 34th of the 44 quarterbacks that accounted for at least 20% of their team’s dropbacks. That being said, Jones was still able to help Brian Thomas Jr. ($6,700) thrive despite Jones’ inefficiencies. In the seven games the quarterback started last season, Thomas Jr. was one of the best fantasy assets in the league, averaging 20.6 FPTS per game, including two outings north of 30 FPTS.

So, while Jones is obviously a downgrade from Purdy, Pearsall and Jennings are still viable fantasy options this Sunday vs. New Orleans, with Pearsall obviously being the much better option of the two receivers, as he saw better usage than Jennings in Week 1 and the veteran is dealing with a shoulder injury. If Jennings is surprisingly inactive this Sunday, Pearsall would be in line for even more targets and he would be a tough value play to overlook for DFS at only $5,300 on DraftKings.

Despite Purdy being out, the 49ers are still a three-point favorite over the Saints on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Alex Hunter
Alex Hunter is an avid DFS player and sports handicapper, who has been a proud member of the DraftKings Network team since 2020. He is a data-driven analyst, who earned his bachelor’s degree in communications at Worcester State University and has been in the sports content business for nearly a decade, covering the NBA, NFL and PGA TOUR. Alex is a diehard Boston Celtics fan, who loves to be on the golf course when he isn’t grinding lineups or producing content. For all of Alex’s work or if you need any lineup advice, be sure to follow him @Hunta512 on X.
Disclaimer

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is Hunta512) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.