Brian

Robinson

Robinson now has eight rushing attempts in each of the Niners’ past three games, playing the breather back role behind Christian McCaffrey, who handled 24 touches on Sunday against Cleveland. Robinson should be stashed in all leagues in case CMC misses time with injury down the stretch of the regular season. Robinson would profile as a must-start option in 12-team leagues if McCaffrey were to go down.

Robinson continues to work behind McCaffrey, spelling him for a few touches a game. Despite the blowout, Robinson still only got eight touches to McCaffrey’s 18 touches. His role is that of premium backup for now, with touchdown-dependent FLEX value in deep leagues. Robinson will need a touchdown to reach fantasy relevance for Week 12 against the Panthers.

Mostly an afterthought after a pair of zero-carry games in October, Robinson has now reeled off back-to-back games of 40 or more yards and a score. The role is still pretty tiny — he had just 14 snaps here and nine last week — and it keeps him from being more than a what-the-heck FLEX against the Cardinals in Week 11.

Robinson picked up three of his five carries on the 49ers’ second-to-last drive before their kneel-downs. Christian McCaffrey softened up the defense with five straight runs. Robinson then came in and gashed them for 23 yards on three consecutive rushes. The 49ers aren’t likely to be in such positive game script versus the Rams next week. Robinson remains a contingency bet but nothing more heading into Week 10.

He managed just five snaps. Robinson’s fantasy value remains tethered to Christian McCaffrey’s health. He simply doesn’t see enough work to be startable at this point.

That’s not terrible production for just six snaps, but we’re not in the habit of starting guys with six snaps in fantasy leagues. Robinson has no stand-alone value at this point and anyone holding him is in the Christian McCaffrey injury Waiting Room business.

Robinson “added” a -1 yard reception. B-Rob remained a pure breather back behind workhorse Christian McCaffrey, but no other 49ers runner touched the ball on offense. Although a committee would likely form in the event of a McCaffrey injury, Robinson would easily lead it over Isaac Guerendo.

Robinson earned two targets on the day. Robinson’s touch count was likely inflated by the 49ers’ in-game injuries. Both George Kittle (hamstring) and Jauan Jennings (shoulder) were forced from play. Robinson failed to stand out against the Seahawks’ talented defensive front but the usage did confirm that he is the clear-cut backup to Christian McCaffrey. He should be stashed on benches for the 49ers’ Week 2 game against the Saints.

This morning’s reports indicate McCaffrey is a “full go” for Week 1. Players managing soft tissue injuries are not without re-injury risk, but McCaffrey is likely locked in for an RB1-level workload in the 49ers’ efficient offense and logic dictates that the team would shut him down if the injury was more than a mild strain. No. 2 RB Brian Robinson is still absorbing the 49ers’ playbook, which makes his rotational workload difficult to project. He’s a low-floor FLEX. The 49ers declared WR Jordan Watkins (ankle), RB Jordan James (finger), OL Drew Moss, OL Austen Pleasants, DT Jordan Jefferson, DE Robert Beal Jr., and LB Nick Martin inactive for Week 1 against the Seahawks.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero implicitly confirms the concern that McCaffrey did indeed suffer a new injury, saying the 49ers’ “opener against Seattle is on Sunday, just three days after the injury” occurred, removing the possibility that this was a precautionary measure due to some sort of muscle irritation. Pelissero previously reported that “alarm bells” are not going off within the 49ers’ facility, but the new injury-related phrasing is hardly comforting. For now, fantasy managers must prepare to be without McCaffrey, while hoping for the best. No. 2 RB Brian Robinson will be a top-18 option if McCaffrey is sidelined for Week 1. No. 3 RB Isaac Guerendo is worth adding in 12-team leagues, where available.