Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Tank Dell

Tuesday, February 11, 2:41 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) could be ready for Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season, though his status is uncertain for now. The 26-year-old suffered a torn ACL and MCL in October of last season, so the recovery timeline makes it realistic for him to be ready for the start of the new campaign. Following a 1,400-yard receiving season in 2023, the 49ers signed Aiyuk to a four-year, $120 million contract. Unfortunately, he could only produce 25 receptions for 374 yards and no touchdowns in seven games in 2024. That said, Aiyuk could be a value pick in fantasy football coming off the injury, especially since Deebo Samuel appears to finally be on the way out of San Francisco via trade at some point this offseason.

Thursday, February 13, 5:42 PM

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said that wide receiver Tank Dell (knee) is "on the right track" in his recovery from a devastating knee injury that he suffered in 2024. "We'll see where he ends up," Ryans said. Dell has a long way to go in his recovery from a torn ACL, MCL and LCL, but it's nice to hear that things are going well early on. Despite Ryans' statement, there remains a pretty good chance that the 25-year-old won't be able to play at all in 2025 after needing multiple surgeries to fix the extensive damage to his left knee. And when the speedy deep threat does return for the Texans, he may never be the same. In addition to tearing all those ligaments, he dislocated his knee and suffered damage to his meniscus. In 14 games before his injury, Dell had 51 catches, 667 yards and three touchdowns on 81 targets. We'll continue to provide updates on Dell's long road to recovery