Nick Mullens' Fantasy Outlook with 49ers After Jimmy Garoppolo's Injury

For the second time in three seasons, an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo has pressed Nick Mullens into starting duty for the San Francisco 49ers. The switch has clear fantasy implications for Mullens and 2020 first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk. 

Garoppolo will be out indefinitely due to a high-ankle sprain, which he first suffered in Week 2, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. He was taken out of Sunday's game with the injury and will now get a chance to rest it.

C.J. Beathard was the initial replacement for Garoppolo in 2018 until he too was injured, which opened the door for Mullens. Mullens made eight starts, throwing for 2,277 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Although the timeline for Garoppolo is unknown, Mullens is worth a waiver-wire claim heading into next week. He averaged 284.6 yards and just under two touchdowns a game during his cameo two years ago.

Extrapolate those numbers over a full season and Mullens would have obvious value as a streaming option.

He has also played well in limited opportunity this season with 852 passing yards and four touchdowns in four games, including just two starts. He had 238 yards and two touchdowns after replacing the starter Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

One issue could be the health of the rest of the team's weapons with both George Kittle and Deebo Samuel dealing with injuries.

The Niners clearly see big things for Aiyuk given where they selected him in the draft. He finished with 98 receptions for 1,666 yards and 11 touchdowns in two years at Arizona State, with the bulk of his production coming in his sophomore campaign.

He currently ranks second on the team with 371 receiving yards to go with four total touchdowns.

With Kittle and Samuel out, Aiyuk immediately becomes a go-to option for the 49ers with few other reliable targets in the passing attack.

Even if the offense isn't what it was a year ago, there is still plenty of value for the rookie and he could be a worthy start in most fantasy leagues, depending on the matchup.

Kendrick Bourne is another receiver to monitor, although there might not be enough touchdowns to go around after the quarterback change.