I’m sure this isn’t what the 49ers hoped to get from Brandon Aiyuk when they gave him a four-year, $120 million contract with $45 million guaranteed at signing before the season started.
Through six games, Aiyuk has 23 catches on 41 targets for 351 yards and zero touchdowns. Last season, he had 75 catches, 1342 yards and 7 touchdowns. Which means this year, he’s on pace for 65 catches, 994 yards and no touchdowns.
Not great.
Not awful, either. But certainly not worth $30 million per season. You’d think he would be the focal point of the offense while Christian McCaffrey is out, but he’s not. He’s had fewer than 50 yards in five of the 49ers’ six games. And he has no touchdowns because Kyle Shanahan almost never calls his number when the 49ers are in the red zone. Shanahan would rather call plays for the fullback.
Aiyuk still gets open and makes catches when the 49ers throw him the ball. But they’ve never won games by forcing the ball to him repeatedly the way the Vikings force the ball to Justin Jefferson. Aiyuk is at his most effective and efficient when the 49ers limit his targets and the opposing defense doesn’t know when he’s going to get the ball. If they focus their attention on him, they can shut him down.
It’s starting to look like last season was an outlier for Aiyuk and he has regressed to the mean of his abilities. Which means he’s still a quality starter for the 49ers. But he’s also one of the most overpaid players in the NFL.