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Fantasy Football Six Pack: What's up with the 49ers' star-studded offense?

It's a big, unknowable league, ruled by randomness and chaos. But hey, at least we can adequately describe these six things ahead of fantasy football, Week 11 ...

28Nick Chubb has produced a league-leading 28 runs of 10 or more yards on his 160 carries. He's also at the top of the PFF leaderboard in missed tackles forced (54) and he's second in yards after contact (611). When Derrick Henry tells you a guy is the best back in the game, maybe believe him.

22.0  The San Francisco 49ers scored 22 points against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10, which also happens to be the team's average point total for the year. With nine games in the books, the Niners rank No. 18 in the NFL in scoring, which is ... well, it's the path to 5-4. Obviously, this group has dealt with injuries, but so have most teams. At some point, it seems an offense featuring Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams and George Kittle should probably erupt. The Niners rank in the bottom third of the league in plays per game (61.6) and seconds per play (30.6), which doesn't seem like the best way to maximize all their talent.

14.5Kyle Pitts has an average depth of target of 14.5 yards so far this season, easily first among all tight ends. This is the one thing you can reasonably cling to if you're trying to talk yourself into holding Pitts in a shallow league. It's a big part of the explanation for his dreadful catch percentage (49.0), which isn't at all what we typically expect from a tight end. He's used as a true deep threat. Unfortunately, this has resulted in Pitts delivering three receptions or fewer for no more than 28 yards in seven of his nine games — brutal production even by the standards of his brutal position.

The way Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is being used helps explain his brutal fantasy production this season.
The way Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is being used helps explain his brutal fantasy production this season. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

11.3Aaron Rodgers' aDOT over the past two weeks has been 11.3, which is notable because he entered Week 9 near the bottom of the league at 7.2. He's of course had one outrageously poor performance in those two games, but also a vintage Rodgers effort against Dallas. He'll face generous pass defenses in two of his next three matchups (Tennessee and Chicago), so there's at least a possibility he can find his way back into startable status for fantasy purposes.

9.1 – There's no shortage of stats we can use to praise Tua Tagovailoa's season, but let's start here: He's leading the league in yards per pass attempt at 9.1 and he's separating from the field. Jalen Hurts is second at 8.4, followed by Jimmy Garoppolo at 8.1. No one is anywhere near Tua's neighborhood at the moment. He's also leading the NFL in yards per completion (12.9), touchdown rate (7.3) and passer rating (118.4). His intended air yards per target have jumped significantly year over year (7.0 to 8.8) and he's completing a ridiculous 71.0% of his throws.

Tagovailoa also hasn't thrown a pick since September. Somehow he's completing 65.6% of his throws traveling at least 20 yards downfield, which is absurd. He's been the No. 2 fantasy QB over the past month, a fact you might have missed during the Justin Fields surge.

4.22Gus Edwards, who's on track to return from injury this week, has averaged 4.22 yards after contact per attempt on his 27 carries, one of the highest rates in the league. It's a small sample, sure, but still a big number. We'll remind you that Edwards has averaged at least 5.0 YPC in each season of his career and he delivered 66 yards and two touchdowns in his 2022 debut back in Week 7.

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