How to approach 49ers backfield in DFS with Elijah Mitchell out

San Francisco 49ers running back Elijah Mitchell is inactive for the NFC Championship, which moves his backups into consideration for DFS purposes. We know that Christian McCaffrey will be the lead back, but there is a chance he isn’t 100%, as he missed time this week with a calf injury. He will likely get a ton of work with Mitchell out, but we know the 49ers are going to use their running backs and if CMC aggravates his injury, his backups could be in line for even more work.

McCaffrey’s main backup after Mitchell has been Jordan Mason, but Tevin Coleman has also been elevated for this game. Mason will likely serve as McCaffrery’s early down backup, while Coleman could end up seeing work in the passing game when the chance comes up. Neither are locks for 10 touches, as they could split work, so playing either in DFS is a big risk, but I like Coleman’s upside a bit more, as he should see more targets in PPR scoring and we know Shanahan trusts him in big spots.

But, they also have Deebo Samuel and this is a huge game, so they won’t have any reservations about getting him carries. This should give Samuel an overall boost.