Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Kyle Pitts

Friday, November 15, 7:10 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) had surgery on his right knee earlier this week to fix a torn ACL and other damage. In addition to tearing his ACL, Aiyuk also tore his MCL in the Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and will miss the rest of the season. He should have already been dropped in single-season fantasy leagues. It remains to be seen if the 26-year-old will make enough progress in his rehab in the offseason in order to be ready to play in Week 1 of the 2025 regular season next fall. For the rest of 2024, receivers Deebo Samuel Sr. and Jauan Jennings and tight end George Kittle should be the most-targeted pass-catchers, with rookie first-rounder Ricky Pearsall also seeing an expanded role in the passing attack. Aiyuk was an absolute fantasy bust this year, finishing with 25 catches for 374 yards and no touchdowns in seven games.

Monday, January 6, 4:20 AM

Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts caught two passes for 15 yards and no scores in Sunday's 44-38 overtime loss to the Panthers. Even though Darnell Mooney (shoulder) missed the contest and Michael Penix Jr. tallied 38 pass attempts, Pitts would garner only three targets in the game. It puts an end to another disappointing season for the former first-round draft pick who put up over 1,000 yards receiving in his rookie season back in 2021, but no more than 667 in any season since then including this year's total of 602. The 24-year-old managed four scores on the year, but finishes as a mid-range TE2 for fantasy. Perhaps next season he and Penix Jr. can develop some chemistry, but it seems we've seen the peak already for the 6-foot-6 tight end.