Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or DeMario Douglas

Thursday, December 18, 4:18 PM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) has been "extremely distant" from the team since suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 7 of the 2024 season, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. The 27-year-old has not played a game since that point. The 49ers voided guarantees in his contract for 2026 and placed him on the reserve/left squad list on Saturday, officially ending his 2025 season. All signs seem to indicate that Aiyuk and the 49ers are likely to go their separate ways this offseason. In his last fully healthy season in 2023, Aiyuk recorded 75 receptions for 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns on 105 targets. He has a chance to get back to his superstar heights if he can get fully healthy and find the right team. However, his health and the way his current situation in San Francisco has unfolded may bring about question marks for dynasty league fantasy managers.

Tuesday, December 16, 4:54 PM

New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas continued to disappoint coming out of the team's Week 14 bye, playing only 19% of the offensive snaps while not being targeted at all in the passing game for the second time this year in the 35-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The only action that Douglas saw on offense was one rushing attempt that went for five yards. The 25-year-old pass-catcher's 10 snaps were his second-fewest on the season. Douglas continues to take a back seat in the WR room to Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, and Kayshon Boutte, making him very hard to trust for fantasy football purposes, especially in the fantasy playoffs. The former sixth-rounder in 2023 out of Liberty hasn't topped three catches or 37 receiving yards since his only 100-yard performance of the year on Nov. 2 against the Falcons.