San Francisco 49ers running back Patrick Taylor Jr. could be called upon as the team's starting running back in Week 16 due to the injury to current starter Isaac Guerendo (foot/hamstring). In typical Kyle Shanahan fashion, Guerendo was sent out to be a workhorse in Week 15 after suffering a foot injury the prior week.
It didn't go well, injury-wise at least. The rookie back is still dealing with the foot issue and now has a hamstring problem to go along with it. He didn't practice either Wednesday or Thursday, which means Taylor could take over his role.
Firstly, if Guerendo is able to go, there's no point in considering starting his backup. But we'll assume he can't go. And in that case, it's hard to get a gauge on him. He's on an offense that's very valuable for fantasy football production for running backs, but we've seen so little of his play, ever.
It's hard to imagine him not having some value, though. Shanahan's schemes have consistently created space for his RBs to operate, and we've now seen three RBs have prolific production this season -- Guerendo, Jordan Mason, and Christian McCaffrey (knee), may he rest in peace. He's alive, don't worry.
He has enough value to be startable in deeper leagues simply because of the team he's on and the role he's in. But his startability in leagues with fewer than 14 teams or without deep starting lineup spots (i.e. 3RB or 3WR leagues with two FLEX spots) is questionable. He should do fine as an emergency fill-in due to RB injuries, though.
His pass-catching upside is hard to ascertain. He's seen so little career volume that it's probably better to assume he doesn't have a ton.
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