3 bold predictions for Brandon Aiyuk heading into 2022
By Timmy Gibson
No. 2: Brandon Aiyuk will win you your fantasy football league
If you’ve been thinking to yourself, “It’s great that Brandon Aiyuk might have a good season, but how can this win me money off of my friends?”, then this next bold prediction is for you.
Experienced fantasy players are already grimacing reading this, remembering Aiyuk’s disappointing fantasy performance in 2021. Coming off of his rookie year, Aiyuk was a much-hyped fantasy wide receiver, and while he strung together some good performances, overall he was not what fantasy managers drafted him to be.
But what if the 2021 hype was just a year too early?
As discussed earlier, Aiyuk is coming into the 2022 season in a much better position than he was in in 2021. And the bad taste he left in the mouths of fantasy players last year is reflected in his draft price.
Currently. Aiyuk is going as the 99th player on average in fantasy drafts, according to Fantasy Pros.
That means Aiyuk is currently going later in drafts than running back Melvin Gordon of the Denver Broncos, possibly his team’s backup, and Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz, who seemed to have lost a step last season. Aiyuk’s upside is monstrously higher than either of those players, who are both on the tail end of their careers.
Last year, the 99th player in fantasy average draft position was running back Devin Singletary of the Buffalo Bills, whose incredible end to the season won many fantasy players their championships. Going one pick ahead of Singletary last year was then-Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who never topped 15 fantasy points in a game last season.
The potential disparity in outcomes shows the value of nailing a pick this late in a fantasy draft. A player who significantly outperforms their ADP can be a league winner, and an incorrect pick can be irrelevant.
Based on that draft value, Aiyuk is a steal in fantasy drafts, currently. If the Niners offense truly does shift more to a downfield passing attack, he will have every opportunity and has made all of the right moves to take advantage of those opportunities.
If he does so, he will be the kind of player that will win people fantasy championships. I’ll be drafting him as much as I can for this reason, and I hope you join me.