Which 49ers skill player should you target in 2023 fantasy drafts? | Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast
In the Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast, Scott Pianowski and Frank Schwab discuss which San Francisco 49ers player they are targeting in Fantasy drafts in 2023, and debate how to draft second and third wide receivers on top offenses next season.
Video Transcript
[SPORTS SOUND EFFECTS]
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Let me ask you this. Who do you think-- and I realized there's uncertainty at quarterback. So let's just ignore drafting a quarterback on the 49ers. Just assume they get somebody competent in there, whoever it is-- it's Brady, it's Carr, they get Garoppolo back somehow, whatever, Purdy's healthy, any of those guys. What member of the skill talent collection do you think you'll draft the most next year?
FRANK SCHWAB: Probably, because I'm a value guy, Aiyuk. I just think that Kittle's tough. I love Kittle, I really do. Love him as a player. But it comes to fan-- and he had a heater this year when Purdy took over. He was scoring. It seemed like he was scoring twice every week.
But the way this offense runs, it's such a low volume passing offense sometimes, which probably is contradictory to me saying I want the second receiver on the 49ers as my main guy here. But he's going to be a lot cheaper, unless, say, maybe cost just rises because people realize Brandon Aiyuk's a really, really good football player. But as far as value goes, you're going to have to have a top two, three pick to get McCaffrey, I assume. Kittle is probably going to be too much. I love Deebo, but he costs a lot too.
So as long as Aiyuk stays at that mid-range, the rounds three to seven where you're drafting a lot of receivers, I'll probably end up with Aiyuk on a lot of those just because I totally respect the talent. And he's one of those guys who gets a bump if Samuel misses time, if Kittle misses time. If McCaffrey misses time, they got to pass a little bit more.
So I think it's Aiyuk for me. Do you have a differing answer from that? Because I might just be totally wrong. The third pass-catching option of 49ers might not be the best cheat code there.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: I realize this is going to sound contradictory because I was saying earlier how I was accepting that in fantasy football, I needed to be more starters and scrubs driven and maybe not be the value hound that I usually am. And yet I look at both of these offenses, the Eagles and the Niners, and I think, yeah, I think DeVonta Smith and Brandon Aiyuk are going to be my guys next year. Because I'm going to ask myself, who's the most impactful guy that I can kind of get at my price next year into one of the top five offenses in the league?
And that comes down to Smith and Aiyuk, that they're going to be priced after AJ Brown. They're going to be priced after Deebo. They're obviously going to go after the tight ends probably. And at least I think Kittle would go before. I don't when Goddart will get drafted exactly. But it's my chance to get my hands in a really good pie but not have to pay the sticker price that the vanity guys go for. So I'd probably-- Aiyuk for me, and also DeVonta Smith for me too.
FRANK SCHWAB: Yeah, one of the biggest mistakes I made this season was underrating Jaylen Waddle and Davante Smith because the same thought process of how many receivers can this passing game really carry along? And you knew Tyreek Hill was going to be a target monster. You knew AJ Brown was going to be a target monster. So I passed on Davante Smith just about every-- I think every draft. I don't think I owned him anywhere.
And then you get to the season, you're like, yeah, Davante Smith is a great player. And it's just going to work out. Same with Jaylen Waddle, he's just a phenomenal player. This is going to work out. Kind of feel the same with Brandon Aiyuk. So yeah, I could see him being on a lot of my teams next year.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: It also helped that all these teams-- we'll lump in the Dolphins too, with the Eagles and the Niners. Even though Philly and San Francisco had a bunch of skill talent on the team, the usage was still concentrated enough. They weren't using fullbacks. They weren't throwing to second tight ends. They weren't-- every once in a while, they throw a pass to Quez Watkins, or Jennings, or whoever. But primarily, those guys aren't used.