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Is Brandon Aiyuk San Francisco’s finest extensive receiver?

To kick off this year’s “Who Is?” series, Brandon Aiyuk might actually be the 49ers’ best straight wide receiver.

Welcome to the opening of Niner Noise’s “Who Is?” series, in which we break down every San Francisco 49ers player on the 90-man offseason roster and address the most pressing questions facing them as the regular season begins.

As this is always an alphabetical affair, it’s no surprise that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk graces the beginning of this annual series.

And he could also secure the title of the Niners’ best pure wideout. With all due respect to All-Pro Deebo Samuel, who does a lot of things terribly well, Aiyuk is a superior route runner and far outperforms Samuel against man coverage.

If you spend just a little time watching both players’ All 22 movie, you’ll probably come to the same conclusion.

Year

games

begins

Goals

receptions

yards

TD’s

YPR

fumbles

2020

12

11

96

60

748

5

12.5

0

2021

17

16

84

56

826

5

14.8

2

2022

17

17

114

78

1,015

8th

13.0

1

Career

46

44

294

194

2,589

18

13.3

3

Aiyuk was a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time in his career last season and also led all San Francisco passers in that category.

Considering the 49ers also have top players like Samuel, tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey vying for touches, Aiyuk’s performance is certainly notable. And he has every right to be frustrated with any criticism.

1k as a 4th option in a run first offense 🤣🤣 I’m as real as Lil Baby says and it’s awesome! I’m always ready to be in business. Year 4 🚀🚀🚀

— BA (@THE2ERA) March 21, 2023

The Niners have already accepted Aiyuk’s fifth-year option to play with them until 2024, but some uncertainty is looming.

Will this affect 2023? Or will some of the other question marks in San Francisco cause Aiyuk to go through some kind of regression after hitting career bests the year before?

In summary, Aiyuk showed promise in his rookie season before starting off a little slow in his sophomore year but really picking up steam in the second half.

Throughout 2022, fans got to see Aiyuk in full form.

ASU’s former first-round pick certainly benefited from Samuel having an All-Pro season the year before, and then the mid-season takeover of McCaffrey also helped ease some of the pressure on Aiyuk.

The only disagreement was with the quarterback. The 49ers played Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy throughout the year.

While there’s still a lot of uncertainty at the center, Garoppolo was the one quarterback Aiyuk never really got along with and now he’s with the Las Vegas Raiders.

If Purdy returns from his offseason elbow injury and picks up where he left off with Aiyuk, the signs point to the receiver’s 2022 numbers being exceeded.

2021 showed that Aiyuk can be a mixed player. Sure, the 25-year-old receiver has now been fully entrenched in the system for three years and he’s the perfect complement to Samuel at the top of the wide receiver depth chart.

However, the Niners have plenty of mouths to feed… er, hands to put the ball in when it comes to offensive weapons. Going back through the talent list, everyone like Samuel, McCaffrey and Kittle can upset Aiyuk.

Would it be enough to stop Aiyuk from getting another 1,000-yard season?

Maybe, but considering San Francisco still doesn’t know who will start under the center this season, another X-Factor could potentially stand in the way of Aiyuk’s upward trend.

Still under his cheap rookie contract as he begins his pro career, Aiyuk has $3.987 million counted against the cap this season, according to Over the Cap. However, with his fully guaranteed fifth year option in 2024, that number rises to over $14 million.

The 49ers already spent big bucks on Samuel’s overtime in the 2022 offseason, and it’s rare for teams to pay two wideouts a lucrative sum of money at the same time. Admittedly, quarterbacking costs will remain low for the foreseeable future should the Niners fully commit to Purdy at center.

However, paying both Samuel and Aiyuk will be difficult in the long run.

Continue reading: ESPN points out the painful truth about Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel

This has led to some speculation that Aiyuk could be traded before that fifth-year option is exercised, possibly in a move that will see San Francisco look to “sell big” and some serious ones in exchange for an ascending receiver recover assets.

Or maybe Samuel will end up being the player to be moved if the 49ers favor Aiyuk’s general ability in a role while also appreciating McCaffrey’s versatile roles more.

However, as 2023 begins, Aiyuk will simply be a key cog in the Niners’ offense, and that’s where he’s at his best.

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