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Realistic Expectations for 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk This Season

I wouldn't be surprised if Aiyuk fails to gain 1,000 receiving yards this season.

Grant Cohn

Oct 30, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) runs the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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Brandon Aiyuk is an outstanding wide receiver who keeps himself in peak physical condition all year.

But he hasn't practiced once this offseason. And it's possible he won't practice at all before the regular season opener -- Nick Bosa didn't last year. He signed his contract extension just four days before the season started. And as a result, he had a down season by his standards.

Will Brandon Aiyuk suffer a similar fate this season?

Let's assume Aiyuk eventually signs an extension fairly soon and plays Week 1 against the Jets. Should we expect him to produce similar numbers as last season?

I wouldn't.

Last season was an outlier for Aiyuk. He averaged a whopping 17.9 yards per reception on 105 targets. I don't think he can replicate those numbers without a full offseason to prepare.

Consider that coming into last season, Aiyuk averaged 13.3 yards per catch for his career. But in a contract year, his yards-per-catch averaged ballooned by more than four yards per catch. And that was after a full offseason.

This offseason, the 49ers have had to install their offense without Aiyuk. That means they've featured Deebo Samuel and George Kittle more than usual in the passing game during training camp. When Aiyuk returns, he still will be an integral part of the passing offense, but he might not be the no. 1 target anymore. Instead, he might get one or two fewer targets per game than he did last season while Kyle Shanahan rewards Samuel and Kittle for showing up and practicing this offseason.

I wouldn't be surprised if Aiyuk fails to gain 1,000 receiving yards this season.

No wonder he wants to cash in now. His value might never be higher.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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