San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle writes: "The first three completions in Tuesday’s practice went to the same player: Brandon Aiyuk. In other words, the still-sizzling wide receiver finished camp the way he started, and he appears poised for a breakout third NFL season.” The buzz has followed Aiyuk for weeks and pushed his ADP up some. He still resides well into WR3 territory in most cases, though, a level that allows for plenty of upside room. Aiyuk's potential ascension could lower the ceiling for WR Deebo Samuel by siphoning target share in what we expect to be 1 of the league's most run-leaning offenses. We've been much more interested in Aiyuk than Samuel at their relative draft costs.

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan confirmed Tuesday that RB Elijah Mitchell is "on schedule” to play Week 1. He’s missed time with a hamstring injury, but it’s not expected to be a long-term issue. He remains a fringe RB2.

ESPN's Nick Wagoner says 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk "has been the team's most consistent offensive performer in camp." That's a particularly positive review for Aiyuk. Few question the former 1st-round pick's talent, but inconsistent performance dogged him last year -- especially early. Wagoner points out that Aiyuk had a similarly strong start to last year's camp but "tapered off" after a preseason hamstring injury. If Aiyuk can stay healthy and keep the effort up, he carries breakout difference-making potential from a fantasy football ADP that has hovered around WR40.

Niners S Jimmie Ward is dealing with a hamstring injury. According to ESPN's Nick Wagoner, HC Kyle Shanahan called it "worse than others" and said Ward is in danger of missing Week 1. It's not a big storyline for IDP purposes, but Ward has a place in deep leagues. His absence would be a slight knock on the team defense as well.

49ers RB Elijah Mitchell has a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out of the entire preseason, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports. "Mitchell is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season," Schefter adds. It's still disconcerting news, though, on a player that dealt with a bunch of different injuries as a rookie last year (although he had no hamstring trouble). We'll see when Mitchell is able to get back on the field. RB Trey Sermon drew the start in Friday night's preseason opener.

Panthers HC Matt Rhule has no plans to lighten RB Christian McCaffrey's workload. “Christian’s a dominant football player," Rhule said. "He plays a high-contact, high-percent-of-injury position. We’re going to put him out there and play him. think we’re all thinking about Christian one way only, and that’s attack.” McCaffrey, by the way, has had a healthy camp so far after missing significant time in both of the last 2 seasons. He's the odds-on favorite to lead RBs in fantasy points per game.

Elijah Mitchell "continues to look like the clear-cut No. 1 option at RB" for the 49ers, ESPN's Nick Wagoner tweeted on Friday. That's been the consistent sentiment coming out of 49ers camp so far. Mitchell figures to lose some goal-line work to QB Trey Lance and doesn't project for a big role in the passing game. But he could still deliver value on his RB24 ADP.

49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk has been the star of training camp the past few days. Teammates are impressed with his play. "Right now he’s having an outstanding camp," S Jimmie Ward said Wednesday. "B.A. has taken his game to another level. It’s crazy. I haven’t won a one-on-one rep with him yet." Aiyuk found himself in HC Kyle Shanahan's doghouse around this time a year ago and got off to a slow start. But he tallied a 47-730-4 line over his final 11 games, ranking 16th among WRs in PPR points. We still have some volume concerns here as Aiyuk fights for targets with Deebo Samuel and George Kittle in what figures to be a run-heavy offense. But Aiyuk is fairly priced at his current WR42 ADP.

49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo has been cleared to practice after offseason shoulder surgery. "He has no restrictions and I’m watching him throw out here right now," GM John Lynch said. "He looks pretty good." With the 'Niners turning the offense over to QB Trey Lance this year, Garoppolo has been working separately from the rest of the team. We'll see if a trade materializes ahead of Week 1.

After 49ers WR Deebo Samuel requested a trade this offseason, word spread that he wasn't happy with the way the team used him in the 2nd half of last season. That's when Samuel saw a near-even split between receiving (87 catches) and rushing (86 carries). "That's false," he told reporters Tuesday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Samuel apparently didn't elaborate. That doesn't seem to put us any closer to knowing how his touches will break down in 2022 and beyond -- especially after learning that his extension includes annual $650,000 incentives for reaching 380 rushing yards. What we do know is that there's a lot about his 2021 season that Samuel will have a hard time repeating.

The 49ers and WR Deebo Samuel have agreed to a 3-year extension. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that it's a $71.55 million deal, with a max value of $73.5 million and $58.1 million in guarantees. The length of the contract means Samuel will hit another contract year at age 29. This should return the star WR to full practice, after a tumultuous offseason.

49ers beat writer Jennifer Lee Chan calls WR Brandon Aiyuk a training camp “standout.” Aiyuk, who was in HC Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse for part of last year, appears on the right track in year 3. “I like what I see out of B.A.,” LB Fred Warner said. “He works super hard. He’s starting to really getting into that mindset that he’s the guy, and he’s capable. I’m just trying to get the best out of him. That’s also just putting pressure on me. I’m also trying ways to get the best out of myself.” Only 24, Aiyuk could enter the WR3 mix if Trey Lance takes a big step forward.

49ers insider Grant Cohn expects RB Elijah Mitchell to remain the team's clear lead back this season. "Elijah's good. I don't necessarily think they're gonna dial back his workload," Cohn said on the Draft Sharks podcast. "The issue with him was that he was 205 pounds and kept getting hurt ... This year he's 215 [pounds]. He's way bigger ... So I think the idea is, he's the starter." Mitchell averaged a big 18.8 carries per game last year. If he gets anything close to that in 2022, he'll return value at his 5th-round price tag.

Niners DL Arik Armstead is expected to miss "a few weeks" after spraining his right knee this week. That's what HC Kyle Shanahan told reporters Friday, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner. Armstead reportedly thought it was a bruise at first, but MRI revealed the more significant injury. There's still time for the vet to work beyond the issue ahead of the regular season. We'll see, though, whether it remains a factor come Week 1. Armstead opened camp as a DT this year after shifting between end and tackle in 2021.

Niners DE Nick Bosa says the beginning of this year's training camp has been "completely different" because of better health. "Last year, I didn't really take any reps until a couple of weeks before the year," he said Friday, per NBC Sports Bay Area. Last year's camp found Bosa still working back from the ACL tear that ended his 2020 campaign in Week 2. His rookie camp featured Bosa missing a lot of time with a hamstring injury. The beast still managed 15.5 sacks and a league-leading 21 tackles for loss in 2021. And he was no slouch as a 2019 rookie (25 QB hits). If we get an even better version of Bosa this year ... we might not even know yet what the ceiling is. Grant Cohn of All49ers.com told us on Friday's podcast that San Francisco has a shot to sport the league's best defense this season. Bosa is a key factor in that.

49ers WR Deebo Samuel reported for the start of training camp on Tuesday. He reportedly requested a trade earlier this offseason, but the team has said all along that it has no plans on moving him. "We've had productive and substantive talks [about a new contract]," GM John Lynch said. "Don't want to get people excited that we're imminent because we're not there yet. .... Deebo's here today and we're excited to move forward with him on this team. We're focused on getting something done." Until we get a new contract or trade, there's still some added risk on Samuel's fantasy outlook. But it seems to be a good bet that he'll play for the 49ers this year.

If there was any remaining doubt as to who will be the 49ers' starting QB this season, HC Kyle Shanahan put that to rest on Tuesday. "We have moved on to Trey Lance," Shanahan said. "This is Trey's team." QB Jimmy Garoppolo remains on the roster as he recovers from shoulder surgery, but the 'Niners are hoping to trade Garoppolo "as soon as we can," Shanahan added. Lance remains mostly an unknown as a passer. But he's in a favorable scheme with strong weapons. Throw in his high-end rushing upside and he's an attractive target at his QB13 ADP.

NBC Bay Area's Matt Maiocco says 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan "appears determined to deploy more of a backs-by-committee approach" this season. That would obviously hurt the touch count for RB Elijah Mitchell, who averaged 18.8 carries per game as a rookie. He also missed 6 games with multiple injuries, though, and needed a knee "clean-up" after the season. San Francisco added RB Tyrion Davis-Price in Round 3 of the NFL Draft and get Jeff Wilson Jr. back to full health after he basically lost 2020 to a meniscus tear. Trey Sermon and JaMycal Hasty also remain but will likely need to fight their way into contention for touches. Mitchell is going RB24 in FFPC drafting and RB23 on Underdog right now. That's not a terrible range, but we're not excited about his 2022 outlook -- especially in full-PPR formats.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that 49ers (still) QB Jimmy Garoppolo recently had a checkup with Dr. Neal ElAttrache and is "progressing well." Rapport added that the Niners are "thrilled with where he is physically." Garoppolo has reportedly been throwing for about 4 weeks and is expected to gain full clearance to return from his right-shoulder injury in mid-August. We'll see whether this is enough to jumpstart the QB's trade market.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, “the expectation within the league” remains that 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo will be traded by August 1. A recent report suggested that the Bucs made a play for Garoppolo, but his agent (Don Yee) shot that down. Unsurprisingly, Yee also claimed that his client is “progressing well and on schedule” from offseason shoulder surgery.