Fantasy Football Outlook: Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Brandon Aiyuk

Every year, fantasy football experts and managers alike devote countless hours to dissecting ambiguous backfields. These unclear situations are risky, but they are also one of the best places to find cheap upside in your fantasy drafts.

Although they’re not as frequently discussed, the same applies to ambiguous receiver situations. When teams have multiple talented receivers but no clear alpha, their average draft positions (ADPs) are driven down, as fantasy managers want to avoid the risk of backing the wrong horse.

Sometimes, this is the right call, as receivers can cannibalize one another’s value. But more often, one player eventually establishes themselves as the team’s top receiver, and that player ends up being a huge fantasy hit as a result. Meanwhile, other receivers on that team play smaller roles and underperform their ADPs.

That’s what today’s article is about: Attempting to determine which players to target and which to avoid in crowded receiver rooms. I went through this same exercise last year, with mixed results. I correctly identified Nico Collins as an alpha receiver and smash pick, while flagging Jayden Reed and Tank Dell as overvalued. I was also in on Dontayvion Wicks and the Bears’ offense as a whole. Hopefully, this year we can wade through these murky situations to find the values while avoiding pitfalls.

Ambiguous Wide Receiver Situations (Fantasy Football)

San Francisco 49ers: Jauan Jennings vs. Ricky Pearsall vs. Brandon Aiyuk

Perhaps I’m blinded by my 49ers fandom, but I did not expect San Francisco to feature as one of the most ambiguous rooms in the league. But, according to consensus ADP, it undeniably is. Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall are being drafted back-to-back with ADPs of WR42 and WR43, and Brandon Aiyuk isn’t far behind at all at WR49.

In hindsight, this makes sense. The 49ers’ offense under Kyle Shanahan is consistently a gold mine, so one of these players will likely be a huge winner. But it’s hard to predict who. Aiyuk was one of the league’s best receivers in 2023, but he started 2024 slowly before his season ended due to a torn MCL and ACL. Shanahan recently set Week 6 as a potential timeline for his return to the field.

Meanwhile, Jennings emerged as the 49ers’ top receiver down the stretch of last season. But he is currently dealing with a calf injury of his own, which may or may not be related to his desire for a new contract. Last year was also the first time he was anything close to a startable fantasy asset, despite this being his fourth year in the league and age-27 season.

Pearsall, a 24-year-old former first-round pick heading into his second season, might be the obvious answer. But he wasn’t impressive as a rookie, finishing with just 400 yards in 11 games on a very underwhelming 1.31 yards per route run. Maybe the fact that he got shot right before the season started had something to do with it, or maybe he just didn’t deserve that first-round draft capital.

Worst Pick: Brandon Aiyuk

I hate to keep picking on already injured players, but Aiyuk joins Godwin in being overpriced even with a baked-in injury discount. As a 49ers homer and former Aiyuk truther, I want to believe in a world where he eventually returns to the field and reestablishes himself as an elite playmaker. While possible, that world seems very unlikely.

Aiyuk only played seven games in 2024, but we can’t ignore that he wasn’t the same player in those seven outings as he was in 2023. His Pro Football Focus (PFF) receiving grade dropped from 92.3 to 74.1, while his yards per route run were cut nearly in half from 3.01 to 1.74. Admittedly, those 2023 numbers were some of the best in the league, and his 2024 marks were still slightly above average. But that fall-off was also before he suffered a gruesome knee injury.

If you draft Aiyuk, he will likely be on your bench for at least a third of the season. Even once he returns, he will likely be eased in for a game or two. If the 49ers’ offense is humming with either Jennings or Pearsall in the No. 1 WR role, there’s zero reason to believe he takes it back, especially given his long history of clashing with Shanahan. There’s still upside here, but the path to it is too slim to be worth the price.

Best Picks: Jauan Jennings & Ricky Pearsall

I recommend loading up on both Jennings and Pearsall at their current prices. I prefer Jennings. But they are both massively underpriced, according to FantasyPros’ expert consensus rankings (ECR), and I agree.

Starting with Jennings, it is true that a fourth-year breakout is suspicious. But Jennings wasn’t just OK last season. He was excellent, ranking 15th among qualified receivers in PFF receiving grade and 14th in yards per route run. Assuming that his calf injury and contract situation clear up (potentially one because of the other), he should step right back in as the top target for Brock Purdy.

Pearsall is also a very intriguing bet. I’m admittedly less excited about him as a player, given his underwhelming rookie year. But I have to give him at least a bit of a pass for lackluster production after being shot. He also finished the year strong with 14 catches for 210 yards and two scores in Weeks 17 and 18. When in doubt, betting on the second-year first-round pick in a Kyle Shanahan offense is probably a good idea.

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.