The 49ers travel down the road to Los Angeles in Week 8 to face the Rams with first place in the NFC West on the line. San Francisco will be doing so a bit shorthanded due to injuries. Notably, the team will be without wide receiver Deebo Samuel and fullback Kyle Juszczyk, both of whom were ruled out on the final injury report. That opens the door for some other offensive options to step up.
Fantasy Football analysis: 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk
For the past two weeks, Aiyuk has been the most targeted pass catcher on the team with 11 targets in each game. This came even with Samuel healthy in Week 6 and mostly healthy in Week 7. It has resulted in Aiyuk’s two best fantasy performances to date. He had eight receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons and then seven receptions for 82 yards last week against the Chiefs.
Christian McCaffrey had two targets last week in his 49ers debut, and likely sees a further boost in looks with Samuel and Juszczyk both out. CMC and George Kittle both stand to benefit, but look for Aiyuk to remain a key piece of the offense against the Rams. Jauan Jennings could fit into the mix as well, but he also is questionable with a hamstring injury. He did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday and was limited on Friday.
Start or sit in Week 8?
Start Aiyuk in all leagues. He’s got solid WR2 standing, but there’s some WR1 upside given the Samuel injury.