ASU Football: Teammates turned NFC West Division rivals—Week 1 Preview
Brandon Aiyuk and Eno Benjamin will take the same field this Sunday but on different sidelines this time around.
Brandon Aiyuk will be on the home sideline, representing the San Francisco 49ers, and Eno Benjamin on the visiting sideline, representing the Arizona Cardinals.
Aiyuk is listed as questionable; however, he did practice in a limited capacity on Thursday and Friday. He'll most likely be good to go.
As for where he fits into the game plan, that's unclear. One clear thing, though, is that Aiyuk has impressed in practice when given a chance. Head Coach Kyle Shanahan actually stated that Aiyuk earned first-team reps in practices before he ended up straining his hamstring.
On top of that, the 49ers number one receiver Deebo Samuel was listed as OUT on Friday's injury report. This makes way for more opportunities for Aiyuk should he play.
Shanahan has a habit of finding all sorts of ways to manipulate defenses and finding ways to attack his opponent with the most unexpected approaches and his most unexpected weapons. This could go one of two ways for Aiyuk. This could mean that he'll be one of the top options (and maybe the top wide receiver) to be involved in the passing game, or it could mean that the offensive mastermind finds ways to use Aiyuk's presence and threat as a decoy for the likes of maybe WRs Kendrick Bourne or Dante Pettis.
While Kyle Shanahan-run offenses are always unpredictable, it looks like the best guess is that Aiyuk will be at least towards the top of his wish list for targets when it comes to the wide receiver position. Shanahan most likely will value star tight end George Kittle more than any pass-catcher he has this Sunday because not only is Kittle his best offensive skill position player, but also the 49ers absolutely torched the Cardinals with their tight ends last year.
In week 9 last year, Kittle played great football against the Cardinals, catching six balls for 79 yards and a touchdown. He was injured for the week 11 matchup, but even backup Ross Dwelley came through for two touchdown catches versus the Cards.
The Cardinals were terrible against tight ends in general last year, surrendering 1,173 reception yards to the position along with 16 touchdown receptions. The Cardinals signed linebacker De' Vondre Campbell and drafted linebacker Isaiah Simmons with their first-round pick to help out with their awful 2019 tight end coverage, but Shanahan might still be looking to target Kittle early and often.
This could limit Aiyuk's production opportunities, and so could the corner that Aiyuk ends up matching up against.
Lined up at CB1 for the Cards will be shutdown corner Patrick Peterson, who has documented a very rigorous workout routine he's been on this summer. He already had momentum carrying over into 2020 after the last four weeks of 2019, where he looked like his old self again. If Patrick Peterson is back, it's going to be tough on any receiver that faces across from him, not just Aiyuk.
As for Arizona's CB2, Robert Alford was supposed to be the guy, but for a second year straight, is out for the season before it started. Alford suffering a torn pectoral resulted in the Cardinals going out and signing Dre Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick is undoubtedly a talented player, but missed ten games last year to injury.
If he's rusty, Aiyuk could possibly take advantage of him if the receiver does indeed start.
It remains to be seen, but Aiyuk could possibly have more luck against Arizona's third corner in Byron Murphy Jr.
Murphy had a confusing rookie season. Some thought that he didn't play well and needs a lot of work, whereas some saw him outperform many other rookie corners and are optimistic.
Sun Devil fans have some disappointing memories of Murphy at Washington, where he shut down N'Keal Harry in 2018. That could possibly bode for a poor showing for Aiyuk vs. Murphy, as Harry was definitely the better NCAA receiver between him and Aiyuk. However, it could also maybe not mean much as the NFL is a different beast than the college game.
It's tough to place expectations, good or bad, on Aiyuk come Sunday. There are so many question marks on both the 49ers offensive game plan and the Cardinals defensive game plan. There are scenarios where he could get some good looks, though, so keep tabs on the game just in case.
Eno Benjamin's role in the game is a little bit more clear.
Benjamin will be the number three running back for the Cards, and most likely will not be heavily involved.
The Cardinals seem to really like starting running back Kenyan Drake, and he averaged 5.7 yards per carry vs. San Francisco last year. He put up 177 rushing yards and 65 receiving yards against the NFC West rival. He added a rushing touchdown and a two-point conversion reception in their first meeting.
Arizona will look to rely on him in the running game, and first dibs in the change-of-pace game for the backup running backs will be awarded to third-year RB Chase Edmonds.
It's certainly possible that Eno could get in on a few snaps, and maybe a couple carries or targets here and there, but it's most likely best to temper expectations on the 2020 seventh-rounder for this week.
His NFL career may begin by learning from Drake and taking some mental reps. He'll be prepared for the mental game, however, as he learned from an NFL coaching staff in his last two years at Arizona State. Aiyuk was obviously taught that NFL work ethic and mentality as well.
The game will begin at 1:25 pm MT this Sunday, and the two teams will meet again in week 16.