Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Tank Dell

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, 11:17 PM

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (knee) was placed on the PUP list Tuesday, according to DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN. This was merely a procedural move to get Dell off the 53-man roster ahead of the 2025 NFL season. Placement on the PUP list comes with the requirement that a player misses at least four games, which won't be a problem for Dell given that he's expected to be sidelined for most or all of the season while he recovers from a dislocated knee and torn ACL, MCL, and LCL. Nico Collins and Christian Kirk will operate as C.J. Stroud's primary targets in the passing game, while tight end Dalton Schultz and rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel also look to get involved.