What It Means:

Aiyuk was one of the most surprising fantasy no-shows in Week 1 of the NFL season, noticeably playing behind Arizona Cardinals castoff Trent Sherfield in Sunday's win over the Detroit Lions. Aiyuk has seemingly joined teammate Trey Sermon in head coach Kyle Shanahan's infamous dog house, which we've previously seen end second-round pick Dante Pettis' tenure with the team. This will be an important situation to monitor early on this season.

Unlike Sermon, who was a surprise healthy scratch, Aiyuk did still manage to see the field Sunday, playing just under 50% of the team's offensive snaps. However, he was unable to draw a target in his time on the field, and is now more of a bench-stash candidate for season-long leagues than the every-week-starter many projected him to become this season. With Deebo Samuel dominating the receiver opportunities in Week 1, Aiyuk will be stuck battling Sherfield for the WR2 role (at least to start the season).