Fantasy Football Player Notes

Samuel suffered a broken foot (a Jones fracture, near the mid-point of the foot) on June 16th and had surgery that same day. He's been given a 10-week timetable for his return to action - six weeks for the fracture to heal plus four weeks to gradually return to playing shape - which would put him back to full speed by the start of the season with the 49ers. He has since avoided the PUP list, though his availability for Week 1 is uncertain. At this point, draft Samuel as a WR4 and don't plan on relying on him for at least the first few weeks, but there's optimism he can contribute significantly soon if he avoids setbacks.

When you're a first-round pick, you're going to get some opportunities, and even more so when the team's No. 1 receiver is out. With Deebo Samuel slated to miss time, Aiyuk is likely to lead the 49ers receivers in targets over the first few weeks. Knowing the schedule starts with the Cardinals, Jets, and Giants, he might get off to a hot start. While watching college film on Aiyuk, he's someone who popped at times, but would then disappear during others. I classified him as more fast than quick, as he is shifty in routes, but lacks elite short-area burst. I thought he'd be a field stretcher who could eventually turn into a complete receiver with some refinement in his intermediate routes. Knowing Garoppolo was arguably the best deep-ball passer in the league last year, that seems like a match. The issue is that the 49ers had him throw deep just 6.5 percent of the time, which was the lowest in the league. We need those numbers to go up for Aiyuk to truly explode. Knowing his early season schedule, it's not a bad idea to snag him as a WR5 and see what happens.