Fantasy Football Week 5 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Kendrick Bourne vs. Demarcus Robinson
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With injuries ruling out both Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings for Thursday night’s contest between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, two WRs on the San Francisco receiving depth chart—Kendrick Bourne and Demarcus Robinson—should see ample opportunity. Here is who to start and who to sit in fantasy football between Robinson and Bourne.
Demarcus Robinson
Demarcus Robinson has been quiet in production in his first season with the San Francisco 49ers, but his track record over his career shows he can have big games.
For the Los Angeles Rams last season, Robinson had a 94-yard receiving yard game against the Seattle Seahawks. In 2023, for the Rams, he had two games of 80 or more receiving yards, and he had a game in the 2022 season for 128 yards on nine catches when he played for the Baltimore Ravens. Simply put, the potential is there, and Robinson will have a little extra juice going up against his former team on Thursday night.
The only thing that is concerning about Robinson is the quiet production he has had in 2025. Regardless of his potential, he has yet to show that he has a valuable role in the 49ers offense that he has had throughout his last few seasons in the other offenses he was in. This year, he only has one reception, which came in last week's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. This offensive output is likely due to Robinson having a reserve role in the 49ers' offense, but even with the injuries of Pearsall and Jennings, it makes the play of starting Robinson in fantasy football a whole lot chalkier.
Kendrick Bourne
Listed as the San Francisco 49ers’ WR3 heading into this season, on Thursday night, Kendrick Bourne will have the role of the 49ers' WR1. Bourne has appeared in three games for the 49ers so far this season and has seen a decent share of volume.
In each game Bourne has played in, he has seen three or more targets. His best performance so far in 2025 was in week two against the Arizona Cardinals, where he had four receptions for 38 yards on six targets. Bourne, like Robinson in his career, has shown big game potential.
In 2023, for the New England Patriots, Bourne had a big fantasy performance, logging 10 receptions for 89 yards. In his latest season for the Patriots, he did not have any notable big outings. His best game was in week six, where he had five receptions for 70 yards and a TD. This was Bourne’s only game out of the 12 games he appeared in where he had over 50 receiving yards. However, it is notable that the 70-yard performance he had took place against none other than the Los Angeles Rams.
Final Verdict
The Los Angeles Rams have a great secondary in 2025. So far, they rank ninth in fewest passing yards allowed per game. So, although Bourne and Robinson will have increased roles on Thursday night, this needs to be taken into account when locking them into lineups.
With that being said, between Bourne and Robinson, Bourne should be a start, while Robinson is a sit. Bourne’s already having an established role in the 49ers' offense is the main factor that goes into him being the start over Robinson in this debate. If fantasy managers are in a bind with bye weeks and injuries, Bourne is about as good a late waiver claim plug-and-play as there is in this spot.
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Gray Deyo is a Nashville-based sportswriter who graduated with a sports management bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has covered prep sports, college sports, the WNBA, and the NBA for the past four years. In addition to writing for SI, Gray also currently contributes to Prep Girls Hoops