Fantasy Football Player Notes

The arrival of Christian McCaffrey might mean that Deebo doesn't add as much rushing value in 2023 as he has in the last couple of seasons. In the seven games he played with CMC last year, Deebo had 19 carries for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Deebo is special with the ball in his hands, so 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan is still going to scheme him some carries - just not as many carries as Deebo handled over the second half of the 2021 season, when he had 53 rushing attempts over an eight-game stretch. Perhaps the more important issue is Deebo's receiving potential with CMC around. After McCaffrey's arrival, Deebo averaged 6.7 targets, 4.1 receptions and 41.0 receiving yards per game. Those are low-end WR3 numbers. Treat Deebo as a midrange WR2 this week but monitor his usage carefully early in the season to assess his value.

Aiyuk quietly finished WR15 in PPR fantasy scoring last year, catching 78 passes for 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns in his age-24 season. Aiyuk has averaged an impressive 8.8 yards per target over his three NFL seasons, and last year he demonstrated that he can thrive despite the abundance of skill-position talent on the San Francisco roster. Consider Aiyuk a high-end WR3 this week against the Steelers.