Aiyuk finds his groove in third 49ers season
AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — One quarter after Brandon Aiyuk dropped a potential touchdown pass Sunday night, the San Francisco 49ers wide receiver responded by setting up the game-winning score.
Aiyuk’s 24-yard, fourthquarter reception from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was followed one snap later by a 2-yard Christian McCaffrey touchdown run that completed a comeback in a 22-16 win over the Chargers.
On Friday, Garoppolo discussed Aiyuk’s answer to adversity. And he noted his drop became a blip from which he recovered rather than a big deal that sent him spiraling.
“I think if that would have happened last year, I’m not sure that would have been the same response,” Garoppolo said. “But it’s a testament to how far he’s come as a player and a person.
“Compared to this time last year, he really is different person. In the locker room. How he carries himself. Everything. It’s starting to show on the field.”
A year after a sophomore season marked by wild ups and downs, Aiyuk is in the midst of a streak of stellar consistency not produced by a member of the 49ers in more than two decades.
Aiyuk has had at least six
catches and 80 yards in four straight games, the longest such streak since wide receiver Terrell Owens did so in 2001. If Aiyuk has another six-reception, 80yard game against the Cardinals on Monday night, he’ll join Owens and Jerry Rice (1994) as the 49ers to have a five-game streak since 1970.
The 2020 first-round pick’s steadiness contrasts to his second season, which was bookended by games that captured his fluctuations: He had zero catches in Week 1 and a season-high 107 yards in Week 18.
Aiyuk is on pace for career highs in catches (83), yards (1,071) and touchdowns (eight), and acknowledged he might be finally settling into a groove.
“I think just as the season goes along, you start to get more and more comfortable,” Aiyuk said. “I’m just trying to continue to get better — that’s the thing. I still feel throughout the games that we’ve played that I’ve left a lot of plays out there.”
What has changed? One area of improvement is obvious. Last year, head coach Kyle Shanahan spent much of the season prodding Aiyuk to improve his practice habits. This week, tight end George Kittle pointed to Aiyuk as an example of a player who has
refused to be slowed by the NFL’s grind.
“That’s one of the hardest things about football — the longer you get into the season, the more sore you get and the more you get banged up,” Kittle said. “It’s the guys that go out there and still want to go full speed. Try to get better on those days and not just go through the motions and learn the game plan. I think Brandon does a good job of that. He pushes himself every day.”
Aiyuk’s improved route running explains why he has become such a go-to target of Garoppolo, who noted Aiyuk excels in a “wide variety” of routes. Aiyuk is averaging 6.9 targets per
game, which is just below the average of one of his more decorated teammates, wide receiver Deebo Samuel (7.5), and above that of another, Kittle (5.9).
Aiyuk’s ability to separate from defenders, along with his skill at using his long arms (33½ inches) to corral off-target passes, have earned him more of Garoppolo’s trust.
“His arms are so long that I’m learning his catch radius — and it’s just different,” Garoppolo said Friday. “He had one today over the middle where I put it high and in front of him and he just went and got it. Some (high passes) you do on purpose because of the location of the defender. And some he just makes you look good as a quarterback.”
Of course, there have been exceptions. And Aiyuk’s most notable whiff this season was his inability to bring in an 8-yard pass against the Chargers that would have been a touchdown.
“On the field, I didn’t know it was like they gave me a freebie, wide open,” Aiyuk said. “So when I saw the film, it was even more sickening.”
What was heartening for Garoppolo and the 49ers? The way Aiyuk answered.