Frank Gore Owners- It’s Time to Acquire Kendall Hunter
Alex Dunlap, Rosterwatch.com 

If you are an owner of 49ers RB Frank Gore, there is a good chance you have already handcuffed that running game by rostering his backup, Kendall Hunter.

If you have not, this article is for you. We are now 5 games away from the fantasy football playoffs. It is time to start thinking about your end-game. The NFC West is total garbage outside of San Francisco, and it is likely that they will be all but assured the division within the next three games. If they are not playing for a first-round bye, there will be little reason to continue pounding the ball with Gore when they can get 65-70% of the production he would yield by starting to feature Hunter.

Frank Gore has an injury history that reads like Pac-Man Jones’s criminal history. You need to be prepared during the fantasy football playoffs to avoid getting swindled by any early and/or precautionary rest periods that may be instituted to keep Gore fresh coming into the real NFL playoffs.

After getting off to a slow start, fantasy owners of Frank Gore have been thrilled with his explosion onto the scene since Week 4. It may have been enough to make some forget about the fact that he is starting to get up there in age. He looks like a new man in Jim Harbaugh’s offense. But remember, this is Frank Gore. He has a little bit of baggage and a whole lot of miles on him.

If Hunter is on your waiver wire, go grab him immediately. He should be #1 on your priority list. If he is owned, Kendall Hunter owners will be likely to take peanuts in a trade at this point for 2 reasons:

1) Frank Gore has kept Hunter off the field with his dynamic recent performance, getting career highs in carries- while Anthony Dixon has been the back that seems to vulture Goal Line looks whenever they feel the need to spell Gore. Hunter is sitting at the bottom of some dude’s roster if he hasn’t been dropped yet for a hot pick-up like Demarco Murray or Jackie Battle. He is the first person they WILL drop when another hot pick-up comes along. It won’t take much to get him onto your roster. Certainly not a starter.

2) They aren’t thinking about this. You are. You are the smart fantasy football player who has the end-game handcuffed and insured, so as not to leave a gaping hole on your roster at the most critical point of the season.

I am suggesting getting this done now before reports start to come out publicly that this might be the situation coming into the end of the regular season. At that point, Hunter will certainly come with a higher price-tag and you are now dealing from a position of weakness. It is a Rosterwatch Doctrine to always deal from a position of strength. Tell Hunter’s owner you are willing to take that flat tire off his hands for someone who may be able to actually help him because you want to make sure that you’re covered in case your biggest stud suffers an injury. No one else is going to want him, and you’re willing to go a little bit above the crap he might find on the waiver wire to give yourself a little bit of insurance.

Be ahead of the curve on this one.