The 49ers improved to 7-1 with a win over the Raiders in their return from a Week 8 bye. In that win, rookie Kaelon Black led the team with a season-high 70 rushing yards. His role has been growing in the last few weeks, so does it make sense to consider him as a stash from the waiver wire in your fantasy football league?
In the right situations, Black is a great option to have stashed for later in the season. Let’s take a look at Black’s role and potential upside and determine if it makes sense to stash him in a bench spot on your roster.
Kaelon Black’s Current Role
With the crunch of bye weeks causing roster churning in many leagues, Kaelon Black’s ownership has dipped under 40%. He was drafted or grabbed in almost all leagues early in the season when there were some concerns about the health of the 49ers’ starting running back, Christian McCaffrey. CMC has been healthy and played in all eight games for the Niners, totaling 10 touchdowns, 457 rushing yards and 270 receiving yards in his usual highly productive role.
Even with McCaffrey healthy, though, Black has been getting more work in his last few games. He earned the job as the primary backup running back by beating out Jordan James in training camp, and he made an immediate impact in Week 1, rushing 14 times for 65 yards. Black came out of that game with a groin injury, though, and was limited in practice leading up to Week 2. He had at least six carries in four of the next five weeks, but he didn’t really break out until Week 7 just before the 49ers’ bye.
In that game, McCaffrey went to the locker room with a thigh injury and missed the remainder of the first half. Black took over and scored his first NFL touchdown before CMC returned in the second half. Black finished with 12 carries for 63 yards and the touchdown and caught one of his three targets as well.
After the Week 8 bye, McCaffrey returned for the team’s comfortable win against the Raiders, but Black was still very involved, posting a new career-high with 70 rushing yards on 11 attempts. The Niners played from ahead in that game, allowing both running backs to rack up rushing yards, with Black helping to grind out the clock in the second half.
Kaelon Black Fantasy Football Outlook
After showing he can be productive with an expanded workload, Black has a chance to stay involved in the near future. In Week 10, the 49ers take on the Cowboys, who have been one of the best matchups in the league for opposing RBs. If you’re in a deep league or desperate situation for running backs, Black could even be a starter this week if needed.
The 49ers have a tougher schedule after the Cowboys, though, with the Vikings and Seahawks around the corner. Down the road, however, they have some potentially favorable matchups against the Chargers in Week 15 and the Eagles in Week 17. Depending on what those teams are playing for at that point, those could be games where the 49ers are playing from ahead and give Black expanded work.
The real value of stashing Black, though, is that if McCaffrey ever misses time with an injury, Black would be an immediate starter in all formats. He doesn’t have nearly the pass-catching abilities that CMC brings, but his strong downhill running style has been very effectiive when he gets opportunities.
If you can plot your way through the bye weeks with him on your bench, or if you can grab him as you get players back from bye weeks, he could be a huge lottery-ticket stash that pays off if McCaffrey misses a game at any point.
Even with McCaffrey healthy, he’s starting to get more work, showing that the coaches are willing to get him more involved, and if he’s getting 10+ carries a game, he’s worth having in most deep formats, especially with his potential upside.
The Bottom Line: Stash Kaelon Black in deep leagues and where your roster allows
Black is a solid emergency streaming option this week against the Cowboys and is worth holding due to his potential upside down the road. While he doesn’t make sense as a regular starter while CMC is healthy, he’s worth holding in most formats if your roster is flexible enough.
For DFS fantasy football contests, like the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] on DraftKings, Black has a high ceiling at $5,000, but he’s also high-risk since he would need to find the end zone to really pay off at that salary. His workload is less certain than some of the other options in that salary range, but he makes sense as a pivot play in tournaments since he could pay off if his workload continues to be 10+ carries against the Cowboys this week.
