Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Cedric Tillman

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 26, 7:06 PM

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (thumb) was back at practice on Tuesday, according to Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Tillman is back on the field after missing almost a full week with a minor thumb injury. Now that the 25-year-old is back at practice, he should be good to go for the Week 1 regular-season opener on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the division-rival Cincinnati Bengals. And with limited help in the receiver room behind Jerry Jeudy, Tillman figures to operate as Cleveland's WR2 to begin the season. It might not amount to much in terms of consistent weekly production with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco leading the offense, though, and RotoBaller currently has Tillman ranked as the WR63. Tillman's 2024 was cut short due to injury, and he finished with a 29-339-3 line in 11 games (six starts).