Brandon Aiyuk is ready to show the NFL he's the 49ers' best receiver
Even the most casual of NFL fans know who San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is. Odds are he's bludgeoned their favorite team's defense at least once and when that happens, well, it's hard to forget the face and name that cause all that pain. Said fans may not know his running mate in […]
Even the most casual of NFL fans know who San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is. Odds are he's bludgeoned their favorite team's defense at least once and when that happens, well, it's hard to forget the face and name that cause all that pain.
Said fans may not know his running mate in Brandon Aiyuk, however, and that's a shame because Aiyuk has quietly put himself on track to have a huge year in 2023.
And it's on track to be big enough to where he will overshadow Samuel as the team's best wide receiver. The All-Pro wideout is well aware of what's coming, too.
"You can't cover him in a phone booth right now," Samuel told reporters earlier in the week. "Just me personally seeing Brandon from a rookie until now, he's gotten better day in and day out. Every season he's got better, and just like, I'm seeing flashes of stuff that I ain't seen him do. Like how fast he is now. How he's supposed to be, and the separation that he can get in and out of routes.
"You can tell he's really detailed his offseason and ready to go."
Per The Athletic's Matt Barrows, Aiyuk was the best player on the field during spring practices (OTAs and minicamp). He's made big play after big play and certainly looks like he's ready to take off in 2023. Granted, it is only June and the pads haven't come on. At the same time, however, we saw what Aiyuk is capable of last year and there's little reason to think he's close to reaching his ceiling.
And when he reaches said ceiling, he's going to be the team's best wideout. Hell, you could even make an argument that he already is without arriving at that point, yet.
That may sound ludicrous considering Samuel is on the same roster, but we are talking about two different types of players that play the same position. From a true wideout standpoint – Aiyuk is a better route runner, he has better hands, and he's a better athlete than Samuel. Even if it's only slightly – it still counts.
None of this is taking away from Samuel – he's obviously a very good player. It's just in terms of a true receiver, Aiyuk is better. Samuel is a different kind of player that can be used in a variety of ways, as we've seen.
“He’s going to be a top-five receiver in this league this year. He’s going to put everybody on notice," cornerback Deommodore Lenoir told reporters.
Even as the fourth option in a run-based offense, Aiyuk managed to catch 75+ passes for over 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns. He's bound to start demanding more attention simply based off his production. He won't have to ask for any – it'll just come naturally.
"He had over 1,000 yards last year," George Kittle said earlier in the week. "I'm not a betting guy, but I would say that he's going to definitely get over 1,000 this year. He's going to score a lot of touchdowns. He's going to make a ton of big plays for us."
Featured image via Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
