The things people say. Brandon Aiyuk has been in the news recently for not practicing and for requesting a trade from the San Francisco 49ers. But he found himself in a different spotlight when former Super Bowl champion Aqib Talib gave Aiyuk a top-three wide receiver label.
Speaking on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams, the following back-and-forth came out. Talib said, “Aiyuk is emerging, he’s probably my top three receivers right now. If you get him with a real quarterback he can go crazy.”
Of course, Adams asked if Aiyuk could be that far up on the receiver ladder. To which, Talib replied he didn't make his assessment based on numbers.
“Man, I don’t really go off the stats, I go off the player,” Talib said. “His body control, his routes, his hands, his speed, he can easily be a top three receiver in the league. If you put him on a team, make him the focal guy, he would go crazy.”
Also, Adams caught the not-so-subtle dig on 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. Talib said Purdy succeeds as a system guy.
“If you took (Aiyuk) out of a system, because San Fran to me is a great system, Shanahan has got it going,” Talib said. “I’m not saying you can just plug in any quarterback, but the quarterback has got to be comfortable in that system.”
How good is 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk?
First, this conversation has to start with the real top three in the league. in all honesty, it's a four-way battle for the top three spots.
Pro Football Focus ranks them like this:
- Justin Jefferson
- Tyreek Hill
- Ja'Marr Chase
- CeeDee Lamb
That's a legit top four. Following those guys are A.J. Brown, Davante Adams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and then Aiyuk.
PFF calls Aiyuk a “devastating route runner and explosive threat, and one of the most efficient receivers in the game. His overall numbers are held back only by the offense he plays in and the sheer quantity of other options within it. Passes thrown his way last season generated a 126.8 passer rating.”
So here's the thing. Pro Football Focus quantified Aiyuk's standing in the 49ers' system — and still ranked him No. 8.
And there's a reason receivers are ranked based on numbers. It's because they matter. When teams have studs at the wide receiver position, they use them. To suggest Kyle Shanahan is wasting Aiyuk seems a little foolish based on the fact Shanahan is one of the most respected coaches in the league. Shanahan is the opposite of former Atlanta Falcons' head coach Arthur Smith, who received much criticism for the way he used his talented offensive players.
So what does Aiyuk do well?
One thing standing in Aiyuk's corner is his progression. He has produced more yards in each of his first four seasons. He started with 748, increased to 826, and then had his first 1,000-yard season in 2022. Last year he exploded for 1,324 yards.
Aiyuk told sandiegouniontribune.com he's not concerned about what everybody else thinks.
“I really don’t care too much about respect no more,” Aiyuk said. “I just come out here and do my job.”
Talib argued Aiyuk would soar if he was The Man on a team.
“If you put him with one of those teams, where it’s like, ‘We gotta throw this guy the ball 11-12 times a game, Aiyuk will be a top receiver in this league,” Talib said.
But here's another thing to consider. Aiyuk may not be held back by his talented teammates. He actually may succeed because of them. Consider this from last year's game against the Steelers. Head coach Mike Tomlin said Aiyuk exploited the Steelers' focus on Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle.
“That’s what makes awesome units challenging,” Tomlin said. “They got a lot of capable people who are able to rise up and make plays when others garner attention. I don’t think any of that is surprising to us. His evolution, particularly over the latter half of last year, is kind of reflective of that performance. So, we tip our cap to him. He made a combat 50-50 catch for a touchdown (and) other significant plays. He played a really good football game.”
Aiyuk had eight catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the contest against Pittsburgh.
So as it is with a lot of comments at this time of year, Talib pushing Aiyuk into the top three likely falls into the clickbait category.
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