Should I Pickup Jauan Jennings or Ricky Pearsall? Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 8

The San Francisco 49ers lost their star wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk (knee), to a season-ending knee injury. This will significantly shake up the pecking order in their offense. Fantasy managers who owned Aiyuk or those who want to get an edge in an evolving situation should be looking into the other receivers on this team.

WRs Jauan Jennings (hip) and Ricky Pearsall are both expected to see increases in playing time and opportunities. Jennings had one massive game in Week 3, scoring 46.5 PPR fantasy points. While this was definitely a fluke, it showed that he could at least be productive with increased opportunity.

Pearsall, meanwhile, has recovered from the gunshot wound he suffered and played his first game in Week 7. He was minimally involved, but he'll now be the third-best receiver on the roster, so his playing time is set to increase. So should you pick up Jauan Jennings or Ricky Pearsall for Week 8?

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Jauan Jennings Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook

He will easily see the biggest increase in opportunities and production as a result of the injury. Aiyuk played the most snaps of any SF receiver, and he had the most yards by far in 2023, with 1342. It's unlikely that they slot Jennings directly into his role. That doesn't mean he won't see more work.

Jauan Jennings has been AWESOME in 2024. This feels like this year's Fantasy football league-winner.

Jennings is THIRD in yards per route run:
3.50 - Nico Collins (162 route sample size)
2.87 - Justin Jefferson (185 routes)
2.79 - Jauan Jennings (145 routes) pic.twitter.com/Ydbxn3n5u7

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) October 21, 2024

He's had impressive efficiency, though those numbers are certainly skewed by his outlier performance against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3. That's probably not happening again. That said, it doesn't need to for him to be fantasy relevant. His overall efficiency means he can thrive without needing a high target volume.

I’m having a hard time gauging Jauan Jennings right now from an injury standpoint. Couple reasons:

•Don’t know his status for Wk8, could miss
•We don’t like hip injuries for WRs. Can often (-) impact route running, separation, sprinting, jumping
•If it’s minor, he’s WR1 https://t.co/QTuzeRekLl

— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) October 22, 2024

There is some concern over his hip injury, though. It's not considered serious, but these kinds of issues can linger for receivers. We don't get access to perfect health information of players, though, and it shouldn't scare you off in the long term.

He's a great waiver add and the potential upside makes him worth a waiver claim in leagues with rolling waivers and a significant amount of your remaining FAAB (25-30%) in other leagues.

Ricky Pearsall Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook

Pearsall is an interesting receiver. The gunshot he suffered should probably be ignored -- he was released from the hospital very shortly after being admitted and he has made a full recovery. The bullet didn't impact any of his crucial internal organs. He's easily back to 100% now.

It's tough to gauge what his role will be. San Francisco rookies tend to not be as involved in the game plans as veterans -- it's a complicated offensive system, and the last thing it needs are rookie mistakes.

RICKY PEARSALL OH MY GOD!!!!!pic.twitter.com/cXB8wPHFMs

— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 23, 2023

Speculation is always fun, but it's more important that the former Florida Gator is a very talented player and he'll be in a great offensive system. He's the fourth priority pass-catcher in the offense though. WR Deebo Samuel Sr., the aforementioned Jennings and tight end George Kittle are all ahead of him in the pecking order.

There isn't much debate that Kittle and Samuel are elite and will have a ton of priority over the rookie. His selection in the first round was odd, but it makes more sense when you consider San Francisco players' proclivity for picking up injuries.

Should I Pickup Jauan Jennings or Ricky Pearsall For Fantasy Football?

Jennings is the guy to grab and it's not remotely close. While the rookie is a fine option if No. 15 isn't available in your league, the No. 2 receiver on this team in the absence of Aiyuk will absolutely be the veteran here. 49ers head coach and offensive mastermind Kyle Shanahan is likely to change the structure of the offense, but that doesn't matter much.

It would be fine in many leagues to put in claims for both players, choosing the same player to drop from your roster in either case, so that you get whichever one is available to you.

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