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Brandon Aiyuk set career highs in targets (114), receptions (78), receiving yards (1015), and receiving TDs (eight) during his 2022 campaign. Entering his fourth season with the San Francisco 49ers, Aiyuk is looking to build upon his most successful season.
The Arizona State product will have challenges exceeding these career highs, with the 49ers continuing to remain a run-first team. After week two, the 49ers are ranked 28th in pass attempts, after being ranked 26th in 2022.
His fantasy owners were scared when they found out Aiyuk would have a CT scan on Monday. However, tests came back negative, and he is now dealing with a chest/shoulder injury. His availability for Thursday’s game against the New York Giants is in serious question.
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Will Brandon Aiyuk Be Able To Tolerate The Pain Enough To Play?
The latest update shows that Aiyuk was a limited participant at practice on Tuesday, an upgrade from his "DNP" status on Monday. With a quick turnaround for TNF’s game against the Giants, the 49ers decided not to actually conduct practice on Monday.
This is great news for fantasy owners, after fearing that his injury would land him on the IR with a potential injury to his clavicle. According to John Lynch, Aiyuk will be a game-time decision, with other reports claiming that he could be upgraded to questionable come gameday.
While the team is optimistic for Brandon Aiyuk to be able to play through his injury, we could see the 49ers be very cautious and limit his snaps. The 49ers are currently -10.5 home favorites against the Giants and Kyle Shanahan could lean even heavier on the run to avoid a possible re-injury.
Brandon Aiyuk's 2023 Week 3 Fantasy Outlook
Aiyuk enters the game as the WR8 and #20 overall with 40.2 PPR fantasy points after the first two weeks of the season. Giants have allowed the 21st-most to opposing wide receivers and volume remains a concern because of target competition and the 49ers desire to pound the rock.
Aiyuk has faced the New York Giants once in his career back in his rookie season. During that game, he finished with five receptions on 8 targets for 70 yards. He also ran the ball for 31 yards and a score. Those are uncharacteristic rushing numbers for a wideout who has only 117 career rushing yards and we can safely assume he was healthy during their meeting.
Even if the Giants were a great fantasy matchup for Aiyuk, the week one NFC offensive player of the week has the likes of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle to compete with.
Brandon Aiyuk's status will need to be monitored very closely, and should be best treated as a fringe WR3.
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