Perfect Week 16 MNF FanDuel DFS Lineup: Stack Elite 49ers', Including Jauan Jennings
In this story:
A very unique Monday Night Football game is hitting our televisions tonight. We have a 49ers team that is (9-4), yet may very well finish 3rd in their division. They are traveling to Indianapolis to take on a plummeting Colts team, lead by Philip Rivers. A once-hot start is panning out to be an early postseason for this Colts team. After all this drama, there is a DFS slate to win some cash on. We provide you with the ideal preview.
Quarterback: Brock Purdy vs Philip Rivers
Purdy is sitting in a very moderate spot. The Colts are 14th versus Quarterbacks. Purdy is averaging about 1.6x of tonight's salary ($11,800). He is without Ricky Pearsall, but it matters little given the recent output of this connection. We can expect a very solid game from Purdy.
Rivers is a must-fade Quarterback. The Colts may have nearly won last week, but it was thanks for many other factors. Rivers looked very bad last week, despite delivering efficient passes in the short game. The 49ers are 20th versus Quarterbacks, but this is their best matchup of the year. Expect Robert Saleh to send a ton of pressure towards Rivers.
You can start Brock Purdy ($11,800), not Philip Rivers.
Running Back: Christian McCaffrey vs Jonathan Taylor
McCaffrey has a usage rate that nears on 50%. He is the highest floor player in the entire NFL. McCaffrey is averaging (21.94) FanDuel Points per Game, which is 1.7x of tonight's salary. The Colts are 10th versus the run.
The 49ers should benefit on game script tonight. They are favored to win the game by about (1) Touchdown, and so they may get to go run-heavy, offsetting any solid Colts run stop. McCaffrey should be able to have closer to (150) Total Yards, than (100).
Jonathan Taylor needs 90 yards vs. San Francisco to stay No. 1 in the NFL in rushing.
— SleeperColts (@SleeperColts) December 21, 2025
Does he get it? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/yrrXopcSlU
Taylor is going to be ultra high-usage with Rivers playing Quarterback. This is a run-first team. However, that does not provide the favorability that one may expect. The 49ers have a very easy defensive gameplan. Taylor may see box-stacks and limited yards per attempt. He had 25 Attempts for 87 Yards (3.5 Yards per Attempt) in his first game with Rivers. I would call him a solid, but very limited option.
Christian McCaffrey is a must-use, while Jonathan Taylor is a higher risk option, but with considerable usage to still consider playing. I might go against Taylor's matchup to save salary.
Best Wide Receiver Picks
Jauan Jennings is likely to command over 25% of this passing offense, minus Pearsall. The Colts, for that matter, are 30th versus Wide Receivers. Jennings also will command a 25%, or so, Red Zone Target Share. His upside is very good, and he is very playable.
Kendrick Bourne and Demarcus Robinson are very volatile WR2/3's. Neither player is projected to exceed 10% of this receiving offense. However, one of them will likely meet above 10% tonight. To predict who that may be will be difficult. It would more likely be Bourne, but the risk is rather fade-able.
The Colts will have a moderately different passing offense with Rivers. They are going heavy on short passes, and that would logically favor Josh Downs. It would work against Pierce. This showed in Week 15 with the following targets counts:
- Michael Pittman Jr. (5)
- Josh Downs (5)
- Alec Pierce (1)
PHILIP RIVERS TO JOSH DOWNS TUDDY.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) December 14, 2025
📺 CBS | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/6fF358D6ih
Josh Downs will have high upside, relatively speaking. We project Downs to have around 15% of this receiving offense, but with 25% upside. Pittman Jr. will linger around the same. Pierce falls to be unplayable as a deep-ball threat with a non-deep ball Quarterback.
Best Wide Receiver Picks
- Jauan Jennings $9,400
- Michael Pittman Jr.* $8,400
- Josh Downs* $6,400
* Higher risk, but worthwhile upside.
Tight End: George Kittle vs Tyler Warren
Kittle has been back to full-health over the past month. In his last five games, Kittle is averaging (7.8) Targets and (6.6) Receptions per Game. In this time, he has (4) Touchdowns. The Colts are 23rd versus Tight Ends, so it is very hard to ever fade Kittle in a slate of high-risk across much of the board.
As expected, Warren did not fall off much with Rivers. He has (6) Targets last week, although going just 3-for-19. The Target Share will remain quite high (over 20%), and so Warren is low-risk. He only lacks the Touchdown upside that came with Daniel Jones. At $7,600, Warren is a good play.
Both George Kittle ($11,200) and Tyler Warren ($7,600) are good picks.
Kicker: Eddy Pineiro vs Blake Grupe
Pineiro remains perfect on the season (25-for-25) through 11 Games. He favors to play indoors, and so he trends highly this week. This is an above-average matchup for Pineiro given the scoring likelihood.
Grupe is wildly inaccurate this year (23-for-31). He may have clutched up last week, but the accuracy is not worth playing. Way too much risk.
Eddy Pineiro is playable ($6,800)
Defense/Special Teams
The Colts are definitely not an option this week. The 49ers are the FPI 2nd best offense in the NFL. You cannot play against that team.
The 49ers have lacked to be good on defense. They are below-average, and they are bottom-11 in Sacks per Game and Takeaways. The Colts trend as one of the worst offenses in their current form, but the upside is still limited on the 49ers defense.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.