Brandon Aiyuk

Now that Samuel is back in a full-time role, Aiyuk's role has faded quite a bit. He's totaled just 14 targets over the last three weeks combined, and even worse, he's only seen one carry. It's odd considering he's been so good with the ball in his hands, totaling 69 yards and two touchdowns on four carries this season. In a run-heavy offense against a defense that sees the fourth-lowest pass percentage isn't great for projections with Aiyuk. We don't even know if Stephon Gilmore shadows Samuel, so it's possible Aiyuk sees a mix of Gilmore and J.C. Jackson. The Patriots have allowed a rather-high 2.05 PPR points per target to wide receivers, which ranks as the fifth-highest mark in the league. The issue has been volume, as receivers have averaged just 17.6 targets per game against them. There's just one team who's seen fewer wide receiver targets than them. Considering the 49ers have averaged 14.2 of them, is that an improvement? Technically, every matchup would be. Aiyuk is just a WR4/5 until we have games that we believe will net more volume, though this matchup isn't as bad as we thought it would be.

Brandon Aiyuk scores touchdown in 49ers' Week 6 win

Brandon Aiyuk hauled in 2-of-3 targets for 12 yards and a touchdown during the 49ers' 24-16 win over the Rams.

Fantasy Impact

Aiyuk operated behind Deebo Samuel in this one, as it appears he is now fully healthy. His low target volume could have something to do with the fact that the 49ers' were playing with the lead for the entire game and racked up 37 total rushing attempts on the evening. Next up for the .500 49ers' is the Patriots and while they figure to limit the effectiveness of Samuel and tight end George Kittle, Aiyuk could have a bounce back game.