The San Francisco 49ers are unsurprisingly off and running in 2023 with a 4-0 record ahead of a Week 5 Sunday night showdown against the Dallas Cowboys. Versatile wideout Brandon Aiyuk has been a significant part of two of those games with a pair of 100-yard performances.
Should fantasy football managers consider leveraging Aiyuk’s hot start and the hype from the 49ers’ success to try and pull off a rewarding trade?
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What Should Fantasy Managers Do With Brandon Aiyuk?
Outside of a Week 3 absence due to a shoulder issue, Aiyuk’s fantasy managers have likely been thrilled with the fourth-year wideout’s early 17-reception, 320-yard, two-score stat line on 20 targets.
Aiyuk is averaging a whopping 18.8 yards per reception and 16.0 yards per target, both career highs. Six of his 17 grabs have gone for 20+ yards, and Aiyuk is being targeted on over 30 percent of his routes while not yet being charged with a drop.
The rapport between Brock Purdy and Aiyuk goes even beyond the surface numbers from their time together so far, an 11-game sample that includes last January’s postseason run with the exception of Purdy’s injury-shortened NFC Championship Game appearance against the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Prior to Purdy’s ascension to full-time starter, Aiyuk had averaged 13.0 yards per reception.
From that point forward, through the Divisional Round win over the Cowboys with Purdy at the helm, Aiyuk averaged 14.2 yards per catch and 3.82 yards per route run (compared to 2.35 prior). That makes Aiyuk’s more extensive downfield role early this season especially encouraging, as it helps support the notion that his expanded downfield presence with Purdy as his quarterback was no fluke.
Additionally, Aiyuk stands to benefit from a 49ers pass-catching corps that is somewhat deceptively front-loaded. Considering the receiving acumen of Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle, at first glance, it appears Purdy is blessed with an abundance of weapons.
San Francisco’s offense has a bit of a quality-over-quantity factor at play, however. Beyond those two players, Deebo Samuel and Aiyuk, there’s not much proven or explosive depth.
Then, considering all of Samuel, Kittle, and even McCaffrey have somewhat spotty injury histories, it isn’t inconceivable to envision Aiyuk with an outsized role in multiple games before the season is over.
The one somewhat potentially limiting factor for Aiyuk and the 49ers’ pass-catching assets is the likelihood that San Francisco jumps out to dominant leads frequently. Consistently taking one’s foot off the gas pedal isn’t an ideal fantasy scenario, even if the preceding snaps are beneficial.
Yet, head coach Kyle Shanahan is allowing Purdy to be even more aggressive now that he has some experience. Subsequently, Aiyuk’s average depth of target of just under 16 yards is a good recipe for the receiver’s continued fantasy success.
In all, Aiyuk is one of those supremely talented players who’s both a great hold and likely a very appealing trade candidate. Nevertheless, I lean toward fantasy managers holding on to the 49ers’ wideout, as there’s plenty of projected success for the offense the rest of the season.
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The one exception would be if a fantasy manager received an offer that included a premium running back or tight end on the level of a McCaffrey or Travis Kelce, but the likelihood of a straight 1-for-1 offer like that is remote.
Where Does Aiyuk Land in Our Fantasy Rankings?
Aiyuk garners the WR13 spot in PFN’s Consensus Rankings heading into Week 5, and if he continues to enjoy as significant a downfield role as he already has, he could certainly be set to move up the ladder.
Most of the wideouts ahead of Aiyuk are the most elite in the NFL at the position, such as Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, Davante Adams, and A.J. Brown. The fact that Aiyuk is just on the outside of that tier lends further credibility to his ascending profile.