The San Francisco 49ers are currently 8-3 and at the top of the NFC West. Their defense will get the bulk of that credit and that is well deserved. The 49ers defense is only giving up 15.5 points per game. Which is the best in the NFL. The cliche is “defense wins championships” but no team can win without putting points on the board.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The 49ers have also been a very good offensive team this year. They are scoring 28.2 points per game, which is third best in the NFL. A big part of this high powered offense is their leading receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
The Sun Devil
Aiyuk was a bit of an unknown in college as he only played two years are Arizona State. The Nevada native really shined his senior year. He caught 65 passes for 1,192 yards and eight touchdowns.
Here is every single Brandon Aiyuk touchdown for Arizona State.
Will he be a first-round pick? pic.twitter.com/dGW4ifiulo
— James Simpson (@JS_Football) April 7, 2020
Aiyuk was the 25th overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft by the 49ers. The former Sun Devil has been productive for his entire career.
Thriving as a Pro
In his rookie season Aiyuk caught 60 passes for 748 yards in 12 games. He followed that up with another good season where he had 56 receptions for 826 yards. Then he really took off in his third season. Aiyuk caught 78 passes for 1015 yards and eight touchdowns. Now, he is on pace to eclipse those stats this season.
Brandon Aiyuk in Week 11: 5 catches for 156 yards including a 76-yard TD 👏@THE2ERA | @49ers pic.twitter.com/kJon4fEhCR
— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2023
So far this year Aiyuk has 45 receptions for 881 yards and five touchdowns. He is on pace to have 67 catches for 1,321 yards and seven touchdowns. After being considered a “reach” as a first round pick by many draft experts. It actually looks like he was a steal as the fifth wide receiver taken in the 2020 draft behind Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, Jalen Reagor, and Justin Jefferson.
The Minnesota Vikings got one of the biggest steals in draft history with Jefferson falling to the 22nd pick but Aiyuk was also a great value at 25 for the 49ers.
He provides this offense with explosive plays down the field while being a wide receiver who can move the chains. The average depth of target for Aiyuk is 15 yards. That is 10th best in the league. None of the nine pass catchers in front of Aiyuk in that category are close to his production. So, not only is Aiyuk providing a deep threat but he is doing it on a more consistent basis than almost anyone in the NFL.
The is just the beginning for Aiyuk as he should continue to thrive with San Francisco. There are no limits to what he will do in this league.
