49ers at Chiefs
Game Info
Kickoff: Saturday, August 24th at 8:00 pm ET
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Betting Odds: No Line Yet via Oddsshark
Network: KPIX, KCTV
San Francisco 49ers
Jimmy Rustoppolo
A 0.0 passer rating is bad, right? Don’t ask Jimmy Garoppolo that, as he’s likely still busy clearing off all the rust he had on display versus the Broncos on Monday night. In his first action since his torn ACL Week 3 of the 2018 season, Jimmy G did not play the part of a $137.5 million quarterback. In all reality, it’s unfair and just silly to judge him off his series this past game, and I would look for him to have quite a bit of playing time upcoming against the Chiefs. Shaking off this performance, moving forward and staying healthy in the process, is all the 49ers want to see from Garoppolo this weekend.
QB2, who will it be?
Speaking of quarterback play, the backup gig is seemingly still up for grabs. Both C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens, who each played a significant amount of weeks last season in place of Garoppolo, have shared duties so far this preseason. Kyle Shanahan has been tightly lipped on who he expects to take the reigns as his QB2 come the regular season, but we could see a verdict unfold this weekend if both are given equal playing time to prove their worth.
Kansas City Chiefs
Mecole Hardman on the rise
Notoriously rookie wide receivers do not have much of an impact in fantasy. However, and I noted this in a recent Bold Prediction piece, Mecole Hardman is poised to make an immediate impact for Kansas City this year. He may not be listed over Sammy Watkins entering the season, but I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility at all that he surpasses him a few weeks into the season. He’s not as fast as Tyreek Hill, but he does have the speed of his own. I am looking for Hardman to have an active game against the 49ers, where he will need to make the most of any targets thrown his way if he wants to become a pivotal part to the already potent KC offense.
Crowded RB room
The KC running back room is a bit crowded, and it’s not so clear who is set to take on RB1 duties for Week 1. Veteran Carlos Hyde seemed to be a prime candidate for the role, but another year older, he remains fairly undynamic as a runner. There are even sentiments that he could be cut before the season begins, though I don’t believe that will be the case.
Both Damien Williams and rookie Darwin Thompson are much more elusive backs. We’ve seen Williams already take over for the suspended last season and succeed. However, this summer Thompson’s name and play have made its rounds as a sneaky option to land the starting job. By now, we all know that Andy Reid rides hot backfield hand, and I would imagine he will take this weekend’s matchup as a chance to figure out who will be his starting option come Week 1 out of the three relevant options.
-Matthew Cava (@CavaM_)