Fantasy football team reports will recap all the offseason activity for each NFL team while previewing what you can expect for '09. Check back frequently for updates!
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Projected 2009 depth chart
QB1: Shaun Hill
QB2: Alex Smith
RB1: Frank Gore
RB2: Michael Robinson
RB3: Glen Coffee
WR1: Michael Crabtree
WR2: Isaac Bruce
WR3: Josh Morgan
WR4: Arnaz Battle
WR5: Brandon Jones
TE1: Vernon Davis
TE2: Delanie Walker
K: Joe Nedney
First and five
There was supposedly an open competition between Hill and Smith for the starting QB job, but Mike Singletary recently stated Hill would start the opener. That shouldn't come as a big surprise —' Hill just looked more composed and led the offense more efficiently, and Smith has never really done that since getting drafted. Hill really only started half of 2008 and posted 13 scores with 2,046 yards. He could really emerge into a decent fantasy option now that he finally has a true weapon in the receiving unit (if Crabtree ever gets into camp on time, that is). Gore will reportedly carry the full load for the 49ers. Mike Singletary wants to move away from the finesse-based offense which Mike Martz ran and turn the Niners into a hard-nosed, smash-mouth team. Gore is exactly the kind of back who can thrive in that system. Look for his numbers to be better than they were under Martz, who didn't coordinate many running backs to huge seasons (sans Marshall Faulk). Old man Bruce actually managed to piece together a pretty nice season with 61 grabs for 835 yards and seven scores ... and he spread it out nicely over the course of the schedule instead of having it come in bunches. I have to imagine his production will decline with the (presumably imminent) addition of Crabtree and the departure of the pass-happy attack. An article from a few months back in the Sacramento Bee reported Morgan was "the offensive star" of the team's OTAs. I think he's an excellent breakout candidate for this season. He only played enough to learn the ropes last year (registering 20 catches for 319 yards and three scores), but he should become a very solid WR2 playing opposite Crabtree. Keep an eye out for him when you're trying to fill out your roster in the later rounds. I think I'm ready to give up on Vernon Davis' potential to become an elite fantasy tight end. If the best he could do under a pas-oriented Martz was 31 grabs for 358 yards and two scores, it's just not going to happen. He started producing after Singletary ripped into him, but can that really be scheduled to happen every week? Davis is a second-rate fantasy TE. I'm learning to live with it. Key offseason transactions
Additions: QB Damon Huard, WR Jones
Losses: QB J.T. O'Sullivan, WR Bryant Johnson, TE Billy Bajema
Draft review
The Niners had to be doing backflips Crabtree was still on the board when they picked at No. 10. He's precisely what this team has lacked since they had Terrell Owens — a true WR1 who can be a gamechanger. Crabtree's foot surgery was a bit of an issue during the combine, but he's fully healed by now. The problem is he's sitting around and waiting to land a mega-contract. We haven't seen him play yet, but I think holding out this long has really set him back ... possibly even to the point where he shouldn't be drafted in your fantasy league. He's fallen way too far behind to get caught up to speed by the opener, and even if he agreed to a deal tonight, learning the offense would be too much to jam into his head in such a short amount of time. I'd probably let Crabtree go undrafted at this point. San Francisco's second-round pick, Coffee, is a tough and powerful runner who plays similarly to Gore — they both seem to enjoy running defenders over instead of trying to outmaneuver them.
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