Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Emeka Egbuka

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.

Wednesday, December 10, 10:17 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie first-round wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has struggled to produce any consistent numbers over the last month of the season. Egbuka has finished with 42 receiving yards or fewer in four straight games. His target share has been there, with eight targets or more in seven consecutive contests. Unfortunately, Egbuka and quarterback Baker Mayfield aren't on the same page right now. Egbuka's fantasy value could drop even more going forward with veteran Mike Evans (collarbone) trending in the right direction to return in Week 15. Egbuka figures to lose targets to Evans and Chris Godwin Jr. to close out what has been a strong first NFL season. The rookie wideout has enough big-play potential to warrant a look for the Thursday night matchup versus the Atlanta Falcons, but fantasy managers might want to temper their expectations for him as a WR3/flex.