Fantasy Football Player Notes

Jauan Jennings delivered a surprise Year 5 breakout in 2024, finishing as the WR25 overall with 77 catches, 975 yards, and 6 TDs in an injury-riddled 49ers WR room. From Week 8 on, Jennings averaged over 8 targets per game, a 25% target share, and 13.7 expected fantasy points - fueled by a 33% first-read target rate. He ranked 14th in yards per route run (2.26) and led all 49ers WRs in red-zone targets. With Deebo Samuel gone and Brandon Aiyuk recovering from a torn ACL, Jennings is set up for a major role in 2025. Brock Purdy trusts him, and so does new OC Klint Kubiak, who views Jennings as a true No. 1 option with Aiyuk sidelined.

Brandon Aiyuk's 2024 season unraveled quickly. After a training camp holdout and securing a four-year, $120 million extension, he struggled mightily, averaging just 7.1 fantasy points per game (WR61) with only one game over 50 yards. Things got worse when he tore his ACL and MCL in mid-October, putting his Week 1 status for 2025 in doubt. Given his poor performance after missing time last year, expectations should be tempered early on.

If I were to tell you that there's a wide receiver entering his second season in one of the best offenses in the NFL, that's a former first-round NFL draft pick who flashed in the final weeks of his rookie season, that's dirt cheap in fantasy football drafts...you'd tell me I was insane. Well, I present to you Ricky Pearsall. Pearsall's rookie season was derailed early by camp injuries and then off-the-field circumstances that were out of his control. All of these factors delayed Pearsall flashing his immense talent, but eventually, the cream rose to the top. In the final two weeks of the regular season, Pearsall finished as the WR7 and WR14 in weekly scoring while seeing a 21.7% target share and 30.4% first-read share and producing 2.84 yards per route run (per Fantasy Points Data). Brandon Aiyuk is coming off a torn ACL in 2025, and Deebo Samuel is gone. If Pearsall can establish himself as the 1B in this passing attack behind George Kittle, he'll crush his ADP and help plenty of Fantasy GMs to titles in 2025.