Rams-49ers DFS Picks: Purdy, McCaffrey for Australia Game — SkimNews
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- Rams and 49ers face off Thursday in Melbourne in the 2026 NFL Australia Game, the first NFL contest in Australia to offer daily fantasy contests, following prior DFS expansion to the UK, Brazil, Germany, and Mexico.
- Mike McClure, a SportsLine DFS expert with over $2 million in career winnings, locked in his optimal lineup and top picks for the Rams vs. 49ers slate using a proprietary prediction model.
- Brock Purdy is McClure's top QB play despite missing both games vs. L.A. last season (Mac Jones threw for 300+ yards with 5 TDs as his replacement); Purdy ranked second in QBR and averaged 27.5 rushing yards over his final six games of 2025, more than Lamar Jackson's 26.8-yard season average.
- Christian McCaffrey pairs with Purdy in McClure's stack, having posted at least 96 scrimmage yards in all six career games vs. the Rams and averaging 147.7 total yards across those contests.
- The Rams' defense was upgraded this offseason with star additions but still allowed the fourth-most receptions and fourth-most receiving yards to opposing running backs in 2025, a mismatch McCaffrey is positioned to exploit.
Why it matters: McCaffrey's six-game track record against the Rams (96+ scrimmage yards every time, 147.7-yard average) gives DFS managers a high-floor anchor regardless of L.A.'s offseason defensive upgrades. Stacking him with Purdy — who averaged more rushing yards than Lamar Jackson over the season's final six games — leverages the Rams' documented weakness against pass-catching backs into a correlated lineup play in a thin, Australia-only slate.
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