Brandon Aiyuk Week 1 Outlook - Jets at 49ers

By Derek Brown (FantasyPros), Wed, Sep 4th 2024, 8:38pm EDT

The ink barely dried on Aiyuk's contract as he made it back just in time for Week 1. Aiyuk was amazing last year as the WR16 in fantasy, ranking third in YPRR and second in FD/RR. His talent and efficiency allowed him to outkick his volume constraints. Aiyuk ranked 30th in raw target volume with an astounding 105 targets. He was also only 44th in red zone targets and was the WR31 in expected fantasy points per game. It didn't matter though. As good as he is, this doesn't set up as an Aiyuk smash week. The Jets ranked 11th in two high usage last year (51.7%). Two high defenses usually mean a heaping dose of Deebo Samuel. Last year against two-high, Aiyuk had an 18% target share, a 35.3% air-yard share, 2.58 YPRR, and a 25% first-read share. Aiyuk will still be involved, but this isn't a game where he'll be leading the way. Aiyuk will run about 75% of his routes against Sauce Gardner (56.9% catch rate and 76.5 passer rating) and D.J. Reed (61.4% catch rate and 85.1 passer rating).