The Evolution of the 49ers' Narrative about Brandon Aiyuk
The 49ers can't get their story straight when it comes to Brandon Aiyuk.
Everyone agrees he's not producing up to expectations. The 49ers traded up to take him in Round 1 last season and he performed well as a rookie, but now he's a total afterthought in the offense.
Reporters have been asking the 49ers since Week 1 what's the deal with Aiyuk, and their story keeps changing.
On Sept. 17, head coach Kyle Shanahan said this: "No, it's not a doghouse. He would've got his spot completely back; tweaked his hamstring before the third preseason game. Planned on rotating him; we did. and you get a big reaction to that. It's not personal. Things are a bigger deal because of fantasy football."
Translation: This is a non-story created fueled by fantasy football player and hot-take journalists. Aiyuk simply was coming off an injury and we're were being careful with him. We'll get him involved in the offense as the season progresses.
On Sept. 22, here's what Jimmy Garoppolo said about Aiyuk: "Honestly, he does a great job in practice every day. He brings it, right attitude, right mindset. I think it's honestly just a matter of time. I know there's a lot of panic in the air, but if you were at practice every day consistently and you saw what he could do. It's really one of those things that, one week it's this guy's game, the next week it's another’s. That's just kind of how the offense goes. But I think it's truly just a matter of time."
Translation: Aiyuk is a good player who practices hard and does everything right. It's an anomaly that he hasn't gotten the ball much yet. We'll get him the involved in the offense as the season progresses.
Here's what John Lynch said about Aiyuk on Oct. 13: "It’s important you earn your opportunities. You do that during the week. It’s not as if Brandon isn’t working hard. For whatever reason, he hasn’t made the strides we expect him to. We probably hold him to higher standards because he has so much in his body."
Translation: Aiyuk isn't practicing well, and he currently is less reliable than Mohamed Sanu and Travis Benjamin. So that's why he's not playing. He absolutely is in the doghouse.
Could the 49ers please pick a story and stick to it? It's getting hard to believe anything they say this year. They contradict themselves from one month to the next.
What will be their next excuse for playing a washed-up veteran wide receiver over Aiyuk?
