Brandon Aiyuk Requests Trade: Fantasy Football Impact & Landing Spots

Brandon Aiyuk could be on the move via a trade before Week 1 gets here and the 2024 NFL season is underway. This would create a seismic shift in fantasy football production for a number of players, including Aiyuk. Who stands to benefit? What happens to Aiyuk’s 2024 fantasy football outlook? Let’s dive in.

Brandon Aiyuk Trade Request: Fantasy Football Impact

No matter what metric you pull up, Brandon Aiyuk is near the top of the list. He’s an elite wide receiver in the prime of his career. Last year, he finished as the WR16 in fantasy points per game due to his baller efficiency metrics despite ranking only 30th in raw target volume (105 targets), 53rd in routes run, and only 44th in red zone targets. In 2023, Aiyuk (among 81 qualifying receivers) ranked third in yards per route run, ninth in receiving yards per game, and second in first downs per route run.

The hope for Aiyuk’s fantasy value to maintain or grow with a possible trade is tied to a possible target volume boost. Let’s dive into three possible landing spots for Aiyuk and what this could mean for his 2024 projection.

Brandon Aiyuk Possible Trade Landing Spots

Washington Commanders

This feels like the clear favorite for Aiyuk. If you listened to his interview on The Pivot, with Jayden Daniels in attendance, the rapport and friendship were palpable. This also makes so much sense when we look at their depth chart and financial situation. Aiyuk would immediately push Terry McLaurin for the WR1 throne for Kliff Kingsbury’s high-pace passing offense. In 2019-2022, Kingsbury’s offense ranked second in neutral pace with the 13th-most passing plays per 60 minutes. The volume injection for Aiyuk with this landing spot with a sharp play caller could be awesome. We could see Aiyuk push for 120-130 targets as a strong WR1.

Washington should have no issues affording a long-term contract with Aiyuk. In 2025, the Commanders have the fourth-most cap space (87.4 million). Pairing Daniels with a young alpha-level wide receiver would be a wonderful move for the offensive environment overall and Daniels specifically.

Pittsburgh Steelers

This landing spot would be borderline nightmare fuel. It’s not the combination of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields that sends shivers down my spine, although that’s not great. It’s because Arthur Smith will be calling the plays, and the team will likely have an abysmal passing rate. During Smith’s tenure in Atlanta, he designed an offense that only ranked 16th in neutral pace with the second-lowest neutral passing rate. Aiyuk should file in as the team’s WR1, with George Pickens pushing him weekly for targets. Still, the growth for his raw target volume is probably non-existent, and he will enter an offensive ecosystem that will be less efficient. The Steelers can afford Aiyuk’s big payday. In 2025, Pittsburgh has the third-most cap space (89.6 million).

New England Patriots

This landing spot is a wild card. It could equal a nice bump for Aiyuk, but it’s equally murky. Aiyuk should be the clear WR1 for this passing attack, with the rest of the receiving depth chart up in the air with Ja’Lynn Polk, Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, and Javon Baker filling out the top end of it. Aiyuk’s standing in the target hierarchy shouldn’t be questioned, but we don’t know what type of offense we’ll see with new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.

Van Pelt helped Kevin Stefanski run the offense in Cleveland from 2020-2023. We don’t know what that will look like with Van Pelt out on his own, but the Browns offense under his and Stefanski’s direction ranked 15th in neutral pace with the sixth-lowest neutral passing rate. If Van Pelt designs a more pass-oriented offense, we shouldn’t be surprised, although I don’t think it will be in the top 5-10 in neutral passing rate, even in the best-case scenario.

The combo of Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye we could see under center in 2024 won’t be as efficient as, say, Brock Purdy, but it would be better than catching passes from Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. If Maye hits his ceiling, then teaming him with Aiyuk should be a solid pairing for his fantasy outlook for the next few seasons.

New England has the MOST salary cap space in 2025 (102 million), so giving him the bag should be no problem at all.

Brandon Aiyuk officially requests trade from 49ers https://t.co/rvAh7BMc7v via @mikeMaher #FTTB

— FantasyPros (@FantasyProsNFL) July 16, 2024

Fantasy Football Fallout for the San Francisco 49ers

So, what happens in San Francisco if Aiyuk is dealt? Who gets the fantasy production bump? The two players who should see the most sizable injection of fantasy points are George Kittle and Ricky Pearsall.

George Kittle is coming off another fabulous season as the TE6 in fantasy points per game. He did this while ranking tenth in raw target volume (90) among tight ends, first in deep targets, and 10th in red zone targets. All of those numbers would give Kittle a boost without Aiyuk in-house. Kittle would take over as the team’s preferred option to attack single-high coverage. Last year, Aiyuk led the team with a 26.2% target share and 3.71 yards per route run against single-high. Kittle ranked second with a 21.1% target share and 2.79 yards per route run.

Deebo Samuel should maintain his stranglehold on target share against two-high coverage, but Kittle could easily see a bump to a 25-26% target share against single-high. Last year, the 49ers faced the 4th-highest rate of single-high coverage (57.8%). This bump in volume could push Kittle back into top-three fantasy tight-end production this year.

While Kittle should lead the way against single-high (and man coverage), Pearsall should be his 1B running mate. Pearsall would also get a playing time and snap bump with Aiyuk gone, and he would then be locked into two wide receiver sets opposite Samuel. In his final season at Florida, Pearsall was in the 91st percentile against single coverage while ranking 51st in yards per route run (among 111 qualifying wide receivers) against man coverage. Pearsall would see his current WR79 ranking in ECR bump up into the WR3/4 range.

*All data utilized in this article is courtesy of Fantasy Points Data, PFF, FTN, and Playerprofiler.com unless otherwise specified.*

News NFL Brandon Aiyuk Jayden Daniels Terry McLaurin Russell Wilson Justin Fields George Pickens Ja’Lynn Polk Kendrick Bourne DeMario Douglas Javon Baker Jacoby Brissett Drake Maye Brock Purdy George Kittle Ricky Pearsall Deebo Samuel