Fantasy football last-minute pickups Week 7: Jordan Mason

Each week throughout the NFL regular season, we will discuss the top fantasy football streaming options. These are deeper-league targets who have shown viable production or fit as a matchup-dependent play to give you a boost in the lineup this week.

Players listed below are rostered in under 50% of ESPN leagues. Although you might notice some overlap with Eric Moody’s waiver wire column that publishes Mondays, an important distinction is that the options mentioned in this column are focused solely on this week’s matchup and not on the players’ values for the remainder of the season.

With injuries piling up across the league and six teams on a bye this week, I went deeper at the running back and wide receiver positions here. Plus, there are tight ends who are producing on the tape. And while I don’t love the matchups for all of the available quarterbacks, I’m looking at three who could generate numbers Sunday.

All references to fantasy points are for PPR leagues. Roster percentages were updated on Friday morning.

Running backs

Jordan Mason, San Francisco 49ers (18.5% rostered; at Vikings)

If Christian McCaffrey (oblique/rib) is out for the Monday night game in Minnesota, then Mason and teammate Elijah Mitchell (30.1% rostered) should both be in line for an increased workload. But I’m focused on Mason here, who seems to be ahead of Mitchell on the depth chart. In relief of McCaffrey during the Week 6 loss to the Browns, Mason had five carries for 27 yards and a touchdown. And he has now found the end zone in two straight games. Let’s keep an eye on the CMC injury reports this weekend, as Mason could elevate into that lead role for Kyle Shanahan’s run game.