San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers rookie first-round wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (chest) is active for Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He had been listed as questionable but was expected to play after being activated from the non-football injury list. The rookie pass-catcher, who will make his NFL debut on Sunday, was sidelined for the first six weeks after being shot during an armed robbery attempt. He'll presumably operate as the 49ers' No. 3 receiver behind Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel this week.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (chest) was activated from the Reserve/Non-Football Injury List on Saturday. While the rookie was in line to play along, the latest update makes things official. He was shot in the chest during an armed robbery attempt before the start of the 2024-25 campaign, so the Week 7 meeting with the Chiefs will mark his official debut. However, it's tough to say how much work Pearsall will receive. But even if he plays more than expected, he'll need to battle with Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel Sr., and George Kittle for targets.

It's still a mystery as to when San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (Achilles) will make his 2024 debut after dealing with Achilles tendinitis, but ESPN's Jeremy Fowler says that McCaffrey should start ramping up his activities after the team's Week 9 bye. The two-time Pro Bowler and last year's leading rusher has been on Injured Reserve since Week 2 and has yet to play for the 49ers this season. Barring a setback as he ramps up his activities, the 49ers are hoping that they'll get CMC back in November. For now, fantasy managers must keep him stashed in an IR spot and hope he returns sooner than later for the second half of the season. Jordan Mason (shoulder) has been a must-start RB1 in fantasy in CMC's place. He suffered an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder in Week 6 but has been cleared to play in Week 7 on Sunday in a Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs.

San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle enters a Week 7 home matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in the midst of one the hottest streaks of his career. Last week in a win versus Seattle he hauled in five of six targets for 58 yards and two touchdowns. He is now on a four-game touchdown streak and tied for the most receiving touchdowns in the league at any position, with five. Kansas City's pass defense in fantasy has been mediocre but has taken an interesting route to get there. The Chiefs have been the ninth-toughest on wide receivers, but have been taken to task by opposing tight ends. They have given up 14.3 TE points per game, good for league-worst, while the second-easiest team -- the Rams -- are averaging 11.3 in Yahoo default scoring, by far the biggest margin between any two consecutively-ranked teams in the NFL. Kittle will certainly be fired up to take on the Chiefs given San Francisco's loss in Super Bowl LVIII and is a no-doubt fantasy TE1.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk will look for his first touchdown of the season when the team hosts the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7. So far, Aiyuk has disappointed fantasy managers, to say the least. In Week 5 versus Arizona, Aiyuk popped for eight catches on 12 targets for 147 yards but has failed to reach eight half-PPR points in each of his other five games. As one searches for an explanation, it's worth considering whether the absence of Christian McCaffrey is allowing defenses to play back more often, affecting Aiyuk's ability to get open deep. Whatever the cause, it's time to make Aiyuk prove he's back before considering him a WR1 or even a WR2. Kansas City represents the seventh-toughest matchup for fantasy wide receivers in Yahoo default scoring. Given the slump and matchup, to call Aiyuk a WR2 this week is probably generous.