San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne caught 10 passes for 142 yards to help lead his team to a 26-23 overtime victory over the host Los Angeles Rams on Thursday evening.
This was an exceptional and clutch performance from the nine-year veteran, who not only matched a career-high in catches but eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the first time in his NFL tenure.
Much credit goes to Bourne for helping carrying the short-handed offense to a great day en route to a huge upset victory.
From a fantasy football standpoint, it’s possible people look at his performance and flock to the waiver wire to add him for Week 6 and beyond.
With respect to Bourne’s outing, that may not be the best decision.
There’s one reason that stands out over all else, and that’s the fact that reinforcements are on their way back to the field for the 49ers.
Before the game, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on the statuses of tight end George Kittle and wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings, all of whom missed the Rams game due to injury.
Kittle has notably been out since suffering a hamstring injury in a 17-13 season-opening win at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7. Pearsall (knee soreness) missed his first game of the year Thursday. Jennings (ribs and ankle injuries) sat his second game after also missing Week 3 (a 16-15 road win at the Arizona Cardinals).
Rapoport said that Kittle “had no setbacks, he is doing great.” He also added “there is a real chance he is back next week.”
In regards to Jennings and Pearsall, Rapoport said that both “could be back next week.”
The 49ers have some time before their next game, an Oct. 12 road matchup at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If Kittle, Jennings and Pearsall all return, it’s going to bump Bourne, who saw 11 targets, down the depth chart. Simply put, Jennings and Pearsall are the starters, with Bourne behind them.
Entering Thursday, Bourne had seen just 13 targets through three games (an average of 4.33 per contest), and that’s simply not enough for him to really be fantasy viable. One can surmise Bourne might be fifth at best in targets if running back Christian McCaffrey, Kittle, Jennings and Pearsall are all on the field.
Now, while Rapoport’s comments strongly implied a Kittle return, it’s possible Jennings and Pearsall miss the Bucs game, with Rapoport qualifying that they “could” be back. Still, based on those remarks, it seems like their returns are happening sooner rather than later.
On another note, this was the best game of Bourne’s career. He’s certainly carved out a nice career for himself in the league with the 49ers (2017-2020, 2025) and New England Patriots (2021-2024), catching 310 passes for 3,943 yards and 22 touchdowns. His career-best season was in 2021, when he caught 55 passes for 800 yards and five scores (with Mac Jones, his quarterback Thursday, as his signal-caller then).
While Bourne has fared well, his career hasn’t been filled with huge fantasy performances. Of course, in reality, he’s done well, but explosive, breakout games haven’t been the norm, perhaps giving more pause to a pickup on the waiver wire.
Ultimately, Bourne played a great game, one that helped the 49ers secure first in the NFC West. It was a gutsy performance for a team that’s weathered a host of injuries. From a fantasy standpoint, though, it’s hard seeing how Bourne gets nearly as many opportunities on a week-to-week basis if everyone is healthy.
If Bourne is called to duty again, then he’d certainly be a more viable option, but at the moment, with the 49ers potentially getting three pass-catchers back, other wide receivers may be better choices at this time.
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