The 4 Best Landing Spots for Brandon Aiyuk in Fantasy Football

The San Francisco 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk have been at a stalemate in contract talks this offseason, which has led to various rumors in recent months. With seemingly no progress being made between both sides on an extension, Aiyuk has officially requested a trade from the 49ers.

Whether or not Aiyuk gets traded is a separate discussion. He's due $14.1 million this season on his fifth-year option while San Francisco can still franchise tag him next season. At the same time, both sides could avoid dragging things out and allow the talented wideout to get the contract he desires elsewhere.

Aiyuk proved he's more than just a secondary option last season, leading the 49ers' high-octane offense in target share (24.0%), air yards share (39.7%), average depth of target (14.1), and yards per route run (3.24), via NextGenStats. Besides wanting an improved contract, Aiyuk likely wants to be the go-to target on whatever team he's playing for this upcoming season -- and deservedly so.

When looking at this situation from a fantasy football perspective, there are teams who would maintain a positive outlook for Aiyuk moving forward. Amid the recent update on Aiyuk's contract talks with the 49ers, let's take a look at four teams who would be fantastic landing spots for the disgruntled receiver.

Brandon Aiyuk Fantasy Football Landing Spots

Buffalo Bills

According to OverTheCap, the Buffalo Bills have only $10.1 million of cap space remaining at the moment. Whenever you get a chance to acquire a player of Aiyuk's caliber -- especially when you're a hopeful Super Bowl contender -- you do whatever you can to make room for said player.

Following the end of the 2023-24 campaign, the Bills traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans. Buffalo has since replaced Diggs by signing Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Chase Claypool while taking Keon Coleman in the second round of this year's draft.

Being the No. 1 option for Josh Allen helped Diggs finish no worse than WR10 in half-PPR formats in his four seasons with the Bills. Aiyuk was the WR14 a season ago despite competing for targets alongside Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey.

Joining an Allen-led offense would undoubtedly give Aiyuk a boost in his long-term and short-term outlook.

Los Angeles Chargers

Another team who moved on from their No. 1 wideout this offseason was the Los Angeles Chargers. After an 11-year tenure with the Bolts, Keenan Allen was traded to the Chicago Bears, which is just part of the reason why the Chargers now have $20.7 million in cap space.

Across the 13 games he was active in last year, Allen led Los Angeles in target share (32.1%), air yards share (38.3%), and yards per route run (2.53). Aside from trading Allen, the Chargers also allowed Mike Williams to walk in free agency.

Los Angeles has attempted to overcome the departures of Allen and Williams by taking Ladd McConkey in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft while hoping Josh Palmer and second-year wideout Quentin Johnston step into larger roles. The downgrade in weapons has some feeling iffy on Justin Herbert in 2024-25 as the Chargers now have Jim Harbaugh at head coach and Greg Roman as their offensive coordinator.

Herbert is more than capable of giving Aiyuk a chance to become a true WR1 in fantasy football.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars were hoping Calvin Ridley would become an immediate alpha for Trevor Lawrence a season ago, but the results were a bit mixed. Despite leading the Jaguars in target share (22.5%) and air yards share (38.2%), Ridley had nine games last season where he posted 40 or fewer receiving yards.

Ridley joined the Tennessee Titans this offseason, and the Jaguars replaced him by signing Gabriel Davis and taking Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round of this year's draft. Even after signing Davis to a three-year, $39 million contract -- which has only $13 million in guarantees over the next two years -- Jacksonville still has the seventh-most cap space ($28.6 million) available.

Acquiring Aiyuk would allow the Jaguars to not lean heavily on Davis or Thomas immediately to complement Christian Kirk and Evan Engram in the passing game. While many question if Lawrence is a good real-life quarterback, pairing him with Aiyuk would be a net positive for both sides.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Depending on who you ask, the Pittsburgh Steelers are likely the worst team -- and situation -- on this list. Even though the Steelers don't have Allen, Herbert, or Lawrence operating the offense under center, they no longer have Kenny Pickett starting at quarterback.

The Steelers were aggressive in improving at quarterback this offseason, bringing in both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. There are certainly questions marks surrounding Wilson and Fields -- especially with Arthur Smith calling the plays in Pittsburgh -- but Aiyuk still has a path toward being a No. 1 threat for the Steelers.

The Steelers shipped Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers this offseason, expediting their plan of wanting George Pickens to ascend into the alpha receiver role. Before a disastrous 2023-24 season, Johnson garnered 144-plus targets in three consecutive seasons with Pittsburgh.

While Pickens has unquestionably suffered from dismal quarterback play, he's yet to show consistency at the receiver position. Pairing Pickens and Aiyuk would be a fantastic move for the Steelers while Aiyuk could still earn enough production to be fantasy relevant.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.