Fantasy Upside
Brandon Aiyuk recorded the first 1,000-yard season of his career last year, and there will surely be more to come. It's possible he could take a major step forward in terms of establishing that he'll be a regular at posting 1,000-yard campaigns. He also set career highs for receptions and touchdown catches in the best of his three seasons. He caught 47 passes for first downs, a solid sign of reliability in a season in which San Francisco was hit hard with quarterback injuries while going from Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo to Brock Purdy. Aiyuk has caught at least five touchdown passes in each season of his career as well as topping 700 yards each time. Last year, Aiyuk caught two touchdown passes in games against the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals. Adding to the positive vibes this year, reports out of OTAs and minicamps suggest Aiyuk was a standout in the offseason program. But ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner advised readers the extent to which Aiyuk seems ready to elevate his game might catch some people off guard. In fact, his performance left fellow wideout Deebo Samuel marveling that "you can't cover that boy in a phone booth" and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir declaring that Aiyuk will be a top-five receiver in the NFL in 2023.
Fantasy Downside
The QB situation will have challenges as Brock Purdy's recovery from elbow surgery will determine how things shake out. Lance and Sam Darnold are other options. Aiyuk has four career 100-yard outings, but only one came last season. He had nine receptions in that same game to fall one short of his career high.
2023 Bottom Line
Seems like the positives far outweigh the negatives here and the price is appealing. Still, as 4for4's John Paulsen pointed out, while Aiyuk clearly has top-ten upside in terms of talent, the 49ers’ passing volume and target competition are likely to be limiting factors.
