Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Alec Pierce

Tuesday, August 26, 5:06 PM

The San Francisco 49ers officially placed wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform list to begin the 2025 season, which means he will miss at least the first four contests. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already said that Aiyuk might be targeting a return around Week 6 on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 27-year-old suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Week 7 of last season, which is why he's not ready for the start of 2025. The former first-round wideout had been a major disappointment in fantasy before his season-ending knee injury, too, as he caught just 25 of 47 targets for 374 yards and didn't find the end zone once in seven games. It's understandable for fantasy managers to want to avoid him altogether this year, although he's still worth drafting in leagues with IR spots. With Aiyuk sidelined, Jauan Jennings (calf) and Ricky Pearsall should serve as the top wideouts in San Fran.

Tuesday, August 19, 7:32 PM

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce (groin) returned to training camp practice on Tuesday, according to Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan. Pierce initially suffered his groin injury in practice on Aug. 10 and then proceeded to miss the team's second preseason game last Saturday. The 25-year-old will probably be held out of th preseason finale this week as well, but the fact that he's back at practice this week means he should be ready for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the Miami Dolphins. Not only does Pierce have an uphill battle for consistent playing time in Indy's crowded receiving corps, but he's probably also the only one of Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs and Adonai Mitchell that doesn't benefit from Daniel Jones being named the team's starting quarterback. Pierce is currently ranked as the WR70 in fantasy at RotoBaller.