The injuries keep piling up for the 49ers. On top of George Kittle (hamstring) being on IR, San Francisco will be without Brock Purdy (toe), Ricky Pearsall (knee) and Jauan Jennings (ribs/ankle) for Thursday’s matchup vs. the Rams.
Mac Jones ($9,200 for Showdown) will start at quarterback for the third time this season and Bourne ($4,600) will operate as Jones’ No.2 pass catcher behind Christian McCaffrey ($11,400), who is leading the team with a 29.3% target share this season. Pearsall, Jennings and Kittle rank second, third and fourth in target share behind McCaffrey, respectively, and these three players have accounted for 36% of the team’s targets this season. There is a huge void with these three missing and Bourne is the next man up, as he has operated as San Francisco’s No.3 receiver this behind Pearsall and Jennings this season.
Even in that secondary role, Bourne has been relevant with 5.6 FPTS per game and earning a target on 14% of his routes. The veteran should run a route on nearly all of Jones’ dropbacks Thursday and Bourne should see a target share north of 20% with the 49ers so short on receiving options.
Having Purdy throwing him the rock would be more ideal than Jones, but the latter isn’t that much of a downgrade. In Jones’ two starts this season, he has led the 49ers to two wins and he has been efficient as a passer, averaging 7.0 YPA and throwing four touchdowns to just one pick.
Bourne and Jones also know each other very well. These two played together with the Patriots for a few years and Bourne’s best season in the NFL came in 2021 with Jones as his quarterback for the entire campaign. That year, Bourne finished with a 55/800/5 receiving line, all of which are career highs for the wideout. Notably, in the the four games that season that Bourne saw over 80% of the snaps, he averaged 6.0 catches for 64.8 receiving yards per game, he scored three touchdowns and and he produced 16.8 FPTS per game.
The one thing working against Bourne on Thursday is that he is facing a Rams’ defense that is allowing the 12th-fewest yards per pass this season (6.0). However, all the pros for Bourne in this situation outweigh this one con about the matchup. The 30-year-old scoring 15-20 FPTS isn’t out of the question and Bourne is a solid WR3 for season-long leagues. Furthermore, the receiver is a near must-play for Thursday’s Showdown slate on DraftKings at only $4,600 and backing Bourne for over 39.5 receiving yards on DraftKings Sportsbook is a strong wager.
