MVP Fantasy Football

49ers RB Frank Gore, the apple of many fantasy owners’ eyes went down with a broken right hand during a non-contact drill on Monday.

Doctors expect the injury to take about a month to heal, which could very well keep him out of preseason.

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According to ESPN, Kevan Barlow has been traded to the New York Jets.

Filling their need for an every-down tailback in the absence of star Curtis Martin, the New York Jets on Sunday acquired five-year veteran Kevan Barlow from San Francisco in exchange for an undisclosed pick in the 2007 draft.

The juicy aspect of this deal to fantasy owners is what that means for the 49ers this season. Frank Gore now stands alone as the featured running back in San Francisco. Gore has battled injuries his entire career, even in college, but when he’s healthy, he’s been successful. This includes last season when Gore amassed 613 yards on only 128 carries.

Gore will probably still not be a 25 carry a game back. The Niners will use Maurice Hicks and maybe even a little Michael Robinson to take the pressure off. That being said, if Gore can manage 20 touches a game, he very easily is a legitimate starting running back in fantasy terms. In our rankings, we had Gore at 29 before Barlow’s departure. With the opening, I’m vaulting the Niner back to around 20. If he stays healthy, he could approach 1,100 yards and eight or nine TD’s to go along with another 300 yards through the air.

Edit - As for Barlow, he can probably be moved up from where we have him (39) to 31 or 32. Unless he feels extra motivated, it’s hard to imagine him being much more than a solid backup.