Jimmy Garoppolo, Matt Breida's Updated Fantasy Outlook After Week 2

The San Francisco 49ers eked out a 30-27 win Sunday against the Detroit Lions, led by a big performance from running back Matt Breida and a solid showing from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. So, two weeks into the season, where do those two stand for fantasy players?

Let's start with Garoppolo. Frankly, it's hard to envision him being anything more than a QB2 this season, and a low-end QB2 at that. Through two weeks, he's thrown for 467 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions, a fairly mediocre start from a fantasy perspective. 

One of the issues is that Garoppolo doesn't have an impressive collection of talent at receiver, especially with Marquise Goodwin battling back from a quad injury. Thus far, Pierre Garcon leads the wideouts with six receptions, Dante Pettis leads the team with 96 receiving yards, and Pettis, Kendrick Bourne and tight end Garrett Celek are tied with one touchdown apiece. 

In total, tight end George Kittle has been Garoppolo's most reliable option, with seven receptions for 112 yards.

It's not pretty, folks.

Maybe the 49ers will find a way to get him another playmaker. Josh Gordon is suddenly available. And maybe Goodwin's eventual return from injury will help. But Garoppolo doesn't have the explosive weapons in the passing game needed to thrust him into QB1 territory, and his offensive line isn't doing him any favors, either.

Through two weeks, Jimmy G has been sacked nine times. As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted, he was sacked just "eight times in 21 quarters" of play last year. 

Take all those factors together, and Garoppolo's ceiling is low. His fantasy standing remains in the QB2 territory. 

Breida is a more interesting case. The running back exploded for 159 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown Sunday, making the argument to be considered in the RB2 tier. Look more closely, however, and there is cause for concern regarding his role going forward. 

Consider that Alfred Morris, and not Breida, led the team with 14 carries to Breida's 11. In total, Morris trumped Breida in touches, 16-14. Last week, the two players were even in touches at 12 apiece. So it's pretty clear that Breida is in a committee situation, or at least has been to start the season, which is affecting his overall value.

There's no question Breida is the preferred option for fantasy players over Morris and the superior player in general. And yet, it's hard to imagine Breida ever being much more than a flex option unless he completely seizes the starting role from Morris.

So long as the two players are splitting the workload 50-50, they'll be splitting the fantasy relevance down the middle, too. 

He should be picked up in all formats if he's still available, but for now, Breida's ceiling is limited by Morris' presence. Fantasy players will surely be hoping the Niners open their eyes and give Breida a bigger workload going forward. If they do, they'll give him an RB2 ceiling in the process.