The 49ers Need to Increase Brandon Aiyuk's Targets

The 49ers offense was good on Thanksgiving, and it could have been much better if Kyle Shanahan didn't freeze out Brandon Aiyuk until the fourth quarter.

Shanahan decided to build his game plan around Deebo Samuel, who's a good player, but not as good as Aiyuk. Against the Seahawks, 14 of the 49ers' 54 plays went to Samuel -- he got 9 targets, 4 rushes and a pass attempt. Shanahan showcased him. And Samuel was good -- he had 94 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown.

But Samuel isn't a great route runner, so Shanahan has to scheme him open. And by the second half, the Seahawks had adjusted to Shanahan's scheme. So in the third quarter, the 49ers scored zero points against a defense that was on the ropes. That shouldn't happen.

But it happened because Shanahan forgot about Aiyuk, the hottest wide receiver in the NFL right now. Arguably the best route runner in the league and one of the toughest receivers as well. Somehow, he got only 4 targets in the entire game -- fourth most on the team.

Of course, when the 49ers needed to put the game away in the fourth quarter, they went to Aiyuk, and he caught a 28-yard touchdown catch. He now has 23 touchdown catches in 4 seasons, as opposed to Samuel, who has 13 touchdown catches in 5 seasons.

Shanahan should call at least 8 passes for Aiyuk every game -- he's that good. He's a gamebreaker. Throwing him only 4 passes in an entire game only does the opponent a favor.