Jaron

Brown

Brown’s 49ers “tenure” ended up lasting only eight days. Now on the wrong side of 30, Brown did not have a free agent market after the Seahawks elected not to re-sign him. He should be a fixture on the workout circuit, but 2020 contributions seem unlikely.

Brown, 30, is the latest wideout to sign with the receiver-needy Niners, who lost Jalen Hurd for the season to an ACL tear and could be without Deebo Samuel to start the season. Brown’s one nice season was in 2017 when he saw 69 targets while starting eight games for Seattle.

Brown opened last year as the No. 3 receiver behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, but he faded in the second half, finishing with 28 targets. The Seahawks should upgrade on Brown through the draft or free agency. Seattle also has Malik Turner as a potential in-house fallback for Brown.

Brown will suit up Sunday against the Packers. Fellow backup WR Malik Turner (concussion) is also good to go. They’ll likely rotate with David Moore as the offense’s No. 3 WR. Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf remain locked in as the primary pass-game options in this run-first offense.

Brown is fully expected to play now that he’s getting in full practices. Expect him to be a rotational option behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

Brown is fully expected to play against the Packers, but he obviously is not on the fantasy radar behind DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and David Moore in an offense that prefers to run the rock.

D.K. Metcalf (100% snaps), Tyler Lockett (100%) and David Moore (77%) worked inside of three-WR sets with Brown sidelined. It’s unlikely the former two studs lose any reps, so look for Moore’s targets and snaps to be impacted the most. Brown gained at least 25 yards in Weeks 3-7, but caught just two passes for a combined 15 yards in his remaining seven games.

Brown missed Friday’s practice for a personal matter. It’s not clear if it’s that or the knee injury keeping him out. With Malik Turner also sidelined, Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf should see heavy targets against the Eagles.

Coach Pete Carroll said Brown has bounced back extremely well from his knee injury and would have practiced Friday if he didn’t need to attend to a personal matter. Carroll was “shocked” Brown made the jump he did after previously indicated that the backup WR wouldn’t be suiting up on Sunday. Malik Turner (concussion) has already been ruled out, so Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf and David Moore will work in three-WR sets. Both Lockett and Metcalf possess incredibly fantasy-friendly roles when it comes to deep ball and red zone targets. We can determine the true fantasy-friendly nature of a WR’s targets by assigning the historical average of PPR per red zone, deep ball and normal targets to each player’s respective opportunities. Lockett (No. 2) and Metcalf (No. 6) rank highly among 78 players with at least 50 targets this season.

Neither did WR Jaron Brown (knee), who is expected to miss the Wild Card game. The Seahawks depth chart behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett will be even thinner than it was if both Turner and Brown are unable to play. Turner will need to get in at least one limited practice this week to suit up against the Eagles.