The final week before the start of the new NFL season is always full of excitement for fantasy football owners.
As teams finalize rosters, position battles are won and lost, and training camp draws to a close, it's starting to become clearer what to expect from stars this season.
Of course, that means all the stars have to not only attend camp but also take part.
Fantasy football managers breathed a sigh of relief when Brandon Aiyuk finally settled his contract dispute with 49ers management, as he'll need on-field time to prepare for a grueling 18-week schedule.
This offseason has been an eventful one for the wide receiver position.
Just as the running backs held out last year, the receivers took turns lining up along the sideline, hoping to get their reward.
Justin Jefferson, AJ Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown all signed new contracts in April, while Tyreek Hill received a raise in the form of a restructured contract.
The Cowboys ended up paying CeeDee Lamb $134 million, leaving Aiyuk and Ja'Marr Chase as the final dominoes to fall.
Chase's situation remains unresolved, but after months of negotiations, the 49ers finally agreed to a four-year, $120 million contract extension to keep the 26-year-old in the red and gold.
The end of this debate was certainly a relief for fantasy managers who were drafting all summer, but what did it ultimately bring to fantasy?
The answer is no.
If the 49ers had actually made that bold trade and sent Aiyuk to the Steelers, it would have had some amazing ripple effects across the fantasy world.
Aiyuk would have been the unanimous No. 1 receiver in Pittsburgh, George Pickens would have benefited from having someone to take coverage off of him, and Deebo Samuel would have been elevated from a 1/1A situation to the clear No. 1 target in Kyle Shanahan's offense.
George Kittle would have been expected to see an increase in targets as well, but as things stand, that's unlikely to change anything.
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Sure, some would speculate that Aiyuk would get more attention as the team's highest-paid receiver, but that's not how Shanahan's offense works.
His West Coast offense still relies on the run to set up the pass, with short, high-percentage passes distributed to a variety of receiving targets.
That's not to say Aiyuk can't take it up a notch and surpass his previous 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns, but Shanahan's goal will likely be to get the ball in the hands of a playmaker in Brock Purdy while Kittle, Samuel and Christian McCaffrey continue to thrive.
As the final week of fantasy football drafts takes place, we can find solace in the fact that this contract dispute is over.
Anyone currently drafting Aiyuk at an ADP of 39.29 can continue to draft him with confidence.
The new contract does not require a pay increase and should see business as usual.
Now, hopefully I can do the same for Chase over the next few days.
Howard Bender is Fantasy AlarmFollow him on .X Translator: Featuring the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show,” airing weekdays from 6-8pm on the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Channel. Find all the information at FantasyAlarm.com. Fantasy Football News and Advice.
