49ers' Brandon Aiyuk explains the route-running success that has taken him to the NFL's elite
Brandon Aiyuk has never been a man of too many words. As an NFL player, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver has continually let his play do the talking. With the 49ers back in the Super Bowl four years on from their agonizing defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs, Aiyuk's actions are receiving greatly more […]
Brandon Aiyuk has never been a man of too many words. As an NFL player, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver has continually let his play do the talking.
With the 49ers back in the Super Bowl four years on from their agonizing defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs, Aiyuk's actions are receiving greatly more recognition as San Francisco prepares to face the same opponent on the grandest stage in Las Vegas.
Aiyuk was named second-team All-Pro following a spectacular regular season that saw him rack up a career-high 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and a player who for many has operated in the shadows of Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey was thrust firmly into the limelight following his spectacular diving catch against the Detroit Lions that sparked the Niners' remarkable NFC Championship Game turnaround.
While that catch may now be the defining play of his career, the trait that has defined his success is his route-running. Few receivers in the NFL can match Aiyuk for the ability to create separation with his release or for his prowess in breaking free from coverage at there top of the route with his his change of direction quickness.
Aiyuk finished sixth in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, in yards per route run versus man coverage, illustrating his proclivity not just for finding holes in zone coverage but for manufacturing his own space against more aggressive defenses.
For the 2020 first-round pick, his success in the most technical aspect of playing receiver is a result of his ability to diagnose coverages and the leverage of defenders, combined with an offensive scheme that is perfectly designed to take advantage of his strengths in that area.
Aiyuk told me on Wednesday: "I think it's understanding those two things [leverages and coverages], once you understand those two things and you take the scheme that you're in and put them together and figure out where you're supposed to fit in, where you're supposed to be, and get a quarterback that sees it the same way and get a coach and coaches that see it the same way, it makes it what you need [to succeed as a route runner]."
His understanding was perfect three plays after his improbable catch, selling an outside release to Cameron Sutton to beat him to the inside, in part with a swipe move akin to that of a pass rusher, as he hauled in a third-quarter touchdown pass from Brock Purdy that pulled the Niners within seven points.
Breaking down that route, Aiyuk explained: "That route we're running pretty much a skinny post, red zone skinny post, quarterback's going through his progressions, I'm not first in the progression so I have to widen, that's where the scheme tells me to go, I have to widen, also just to move that corner off his spot, just leveraging, understanding where he's going to play man, what the coverage is, so I can move him to the right spot against his leverage, understanding where the rest of the coverage is and where I need to take my route to once I get in the position to run my route."
Maintaining that understanding could be more difficult against a stingy Chiefs secondary that will undoubtedly aim to muddy the picture with disguise on the instruction of sage defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Still, Aiyuk clearly has plenty of confidence he and the 49ers' star-studded group of pass catchers can find ways to take advantage of vulnerabilities in the Chiefs' defensive backfield.
"That's what film study is for," he added. "We've been in there all week looking at ways we can exploit them."
Given the attention to detail Aiyuk demonstrates in perfecting his route-running craft, there is little reason not to believe he can identify ways to win the matchups with the likes of L'Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie that could go a long way to deciding Super Bowl 58.
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