San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk is coming off a very efficient season where he established himself as his team’s top option in the passing game. With continued progression baked into his price, should fantasy football managers be looking at Aiyuk in Best Ball drafts?
Brandon Aiyuk’s 2024 Fantasy Outlook
It’s pretty impressive what Aiyuk has been able to accomplish in such a low-volume passing offense. Over the past two years, the 49ers have been the 10th-most run-heavy offense in the NFL.
Amazing concentration by #49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk on this catch 🤯
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365)
After a disappointing 2021 season, Aiyuk has improved each of the past two years, averaging 13.4 fantasy points per game in 2022 and improving to a career-best 15.6 points per game in 2023.
Last season, Aiyuk saw a 25% target share. That’s the minimum of what we want from an NFL team’s WR1. On an offense that doesn’t throw much, though, it doesn’t mean as much. As a result, Aiyuk only caught 75 passes. However, he turned that into 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns.
Aiyuk has always been a decent downfield receiver, but he took it to another level in 2023. His 13.8 aDOT (average depth of target) was 17th in the league. That resulted in him averaging a stellar 12.8 yards per target and 3.18 yards per route run, second and third in the league, respectively.
Aiyuk burst out of the gate last year, posting his best week of the season in Week 1, scoring 32.9 fantasy points. Overall, he didn’t have many spike weeks, with just four games of 20+ fantasy points. However, he registered just three games under 10 fantasy points. Aiyuk rarely completely fails you.
Should You Draft Aiyuk in 2024 Best Ball Leagues?
It’s quite interesting that Aiyuk is being drafted as a borderline WR1. He certainly has the talent to finish in the top 12, but through four years, he hasn’t exactly shown that sort of upside within the San Francisco offense.
Aiyuk is entering the last year of his rookie contract, if you’re into that sort of thing. He has all of the incentive in the world to have a huge year. However, I believe professional football players are trying their hardest every year.
KEEP READING: Fantasy Football Best Ball Strategy
I want to draft Aiyuk this year, especially in Best Ball. However, I don’t view him as meaningfully better than the handful of wide receivers going after him. I would straight up prefer guys like New Orleans Saints WR Chris Olave and Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr. to Aiyuk, both of whom go after Aiyuk.
As a result, unless he falls beyond his ADP, I will likely be passing on Aiyuk in Best Ball drafts.
