Who Should I Start? Brandon Aiyuk or Zay Flowers

Tuesday, July 22, 2:37 PM

San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch says the team is "encouraged" about wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk's (knee) recovery from the ACL and MCL tears that ended his 2024 season last October. However, Aiyuk is "not anywhere close to having a concrete timeline" to return to practices, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Aiyuk was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list on Friday, which means he can theoretically be activated at any point this offseason. Nevertheless, previous reporting has indicated Aiyuk is unlikely to be ready to go for the start of the regular season. In his absence, San Francisco will rely more heavily on receivers Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Demarcus Robinson, and Jacob Cowing. Rookie fourth-round wideout Jordan Watkins could also get more of a look in camp.

Tuesday, June 3, 2:47 PM

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers is coming off his first Pro Bowl campaign in just his second season in the NFL. The 2023 first-round pick out of Boston College snagged 74 of his 116 targets for 1,059 yards and four touchdowns in 17 games. Unfortunately, Flowers was banged up in the season finale against the Cleveland Browns and did not appear in either of Baltimore's postseason contests. Heading into Year 3, the Ravens are hoping to get Flowers more involved. "We just got to get him the ball more," offensive coordinator Todd Monken said after Tuesday's practice. "He's not only an outside receiver who has elite route-running skills, but he's unbelievable with the ball in his hands." Flowers ranked 19th in receiving yards last season despite finishing 28th in receptions and 23rd in targets. An uptick in target volume could give him fringe WR1 upside, and his target competition at wideout remains underwhelming.