The 49ers start a two game road trip before their week 8 break. First on deck are the St. Louis Rams. St. Louis might not be racking up the wins, but their offense has kept them in most contests. Unfortunately, Monday night's game doesn't appear to be boon of fantasy points for either team. Here is who you should start and who probably needs a week on your bench:
Must Starts
Frank Gore
DeMarco Murray has been the only running back to score a rushing touchdown against the Rams. The good news for those who own stock in Gore Industries is that he has now rushed for over 100 yards in consecutive games. Look for the Niners to pound the rock on the road. Gore is a strong RB2 play week 6, but you may want to see what trade interest the vet draws as the season continues.
Quality Starts
Colin Kaepernick
He is starting to look more like the Kaepernick from 2013 as the offense focuses on the run. He only had 26 pass attempts against the Chiefs and this doesn't seem like a match-up that should increase that number. Not a good week to start Kaepernick as a QB1, but he is running each game and sooner or later he'll have to scramble for a score. Not top 10 material, but you could do worse.
Michael Crabtree
After stringing together two strong weeks Crabtree has sputtered out the last two games. His track record against St. Louis is encouraging, but he is in WR3 territory until we see his usage and targets increase. Hopefully, he bounces back Monday night with a strong performance, but his opportunities may be limited as the Rams can be beaten by the run.
Brian Quick
After several trips to the preseason Pro Bowl, Quick has finally found some regular season success. It doesn't hurt having an aggressive QB locking onto your routes, either. The Niner secondary is suspect while their front seven aren't generating a consistent pass rushs. The Rams boast one of the better offensive lines is the league which should give Quick a few opportunities. If any St. Louis receiver is going to get it done week 6, I put my chips on Quick.
Avoid
Anquan Boldin
He obviously can still get it done on the field, but after 5 weeks without a touchdown it's time to downgrade Boldin to WR4. St. Louis' secondary is beatable, but so are their front seven. Another 5 reception 60 yard night seems like an appropriate ceiling for "Q".
Vernon Davis
A better chance to play this week, but not a sure bet to suit up with his back issue. It's a Monday night game so if you want to wait and see if he plays be sure to grab Jared Cook or Vance McDonald if he is a late scratch. Personally, I'd avoid starting him given the uncertainty.
Zac Stacy
You probably paid very handsomely for the services of Mr. Stacy back in August. To date, he only has 1 touchdown and one game of over 70 rushing yards (both against Tampa Bay for those keeping score at home). Add a calf injury that cost him touches last week and one of the better rush defenses in the league and you have the recipe for a 220lbs bench muffin.
Austin Davis
The undrafted sophomore has turned a few heads in his last two games. Now it's time to see what he can do against a top tier defense. He was able to produce against Dallas and Philadelphia, but the Niners have only allowed one passer to go over 250 yards this season. Austin could have success similar to how Drew Stanton and Jay Cutler were able to achieve multi-TD games without a ton of yardage. I'd still rather be late than early to the Austin Davis party until we see a larger sample size.
Sleeper
Carlos Hyde
It's about time he snaked another touchdown from Gore. It looks like San Francisco is getting back to their heavy focus on rushing the ball and if Hyde can get 7-8 touches he could end up with about 50 yards and a touchdown against the soft Rams run defense.
Good luck out there and be sure to drop a fantasy question in the comment section.