May 17, 2022

Brandon Aiyuk overcame a surprisingly slow start to his 2021 regular season and re-established his role as San Francisco's unquestioned WR2. The limitations in his usage and output from Weeks 1-7 were excruciating for anyone who selected him during the 2021 draft process, as it was clear that Kyle Shanahan was initially disenchanted with his second-year receiver. Aiyuk was limited to just 26 snaps, failed to register a target during the 49ers' season opener, and only exceeded three targets once from Weeks 1-4. His snap share was 66.6% from 1-7, and he was operating with minuscule averages of 2.7 targets and 19.2 yards per game. However, his snap share rose to 92.6% from Weeks 8-18, while his yards per target also improved from 6.0 to 10.7. Aiyuk also averaged 6.2 targets per game during that span, while soaring to ninth in yardage (730/66.4 yards per game), and tying for third in receptions of 20+yards (15). Aiyuk possesses the talent to maintain the numbers that he assembled during his statistical surge, and the eventual transition to Trey Lance should not deter him from functioning as a high-end WR3 for fantasy managers. This positions him to outperform the expectations of his ADPs in best-ball drafts (100/WR40) and dynasty startup leagues (97/WR39). His outlook would improve even further if either Deebo Samuel or George Kittle would be sidelined during the season.--Phil Clark