Who Should I Start? Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk

Thursday, July 25, 2:24 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. looked slimmer during spring drills than he had last year, and he appears to have lost even more weight for the start of training camp. "I think he looks great," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the offense took its first snaps in 11-on-11 drills. "I thought he looked great in OTAs and minicamp. And I think he looks better today." The 49ers are practicing without two wideouts, Brandon Aiyuk and first-round pick Ricky Pearsall (hamstring), so Samuel's fantasy draft stock remains in a state of flux until a clearer picture emerges of how this receiving corps might look for the start of the regular season. The 28-year-old Pro Bowl wideout totaled 12 touchdowns in 15 appearances in 2023, placing second at his position in PPR fantasy points per route run (0.67) and first in fantasy points per target (2.74) over 89 targets, and he's being treated as a WR1 bet at his second-round ADP this summer.

Wednesday, July 24, 9:16 PM

Reports stated that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk would attend 49ers training camp, but Aiyuk was seen in shorts and a t-shirt while observing practice on the first day of camp. Aiyuk awaits a resolution regarding his contract status as he is looking for a contract in line with some of the top players at wide receiver. Aiyuk has formally requested a trade to the team, but the team is not budging in their wanting to keep the 26-year-old Aiyuk. Without a trade, Aiyuk will play in San Francisco on his fifth-year option where he's put up two straight 1,000-yard campaigns and enters 2024 as a low-end WR1 if he plays this season in the Bay Area.