Cardinals Pushed to Trade for Brandon Aiyuk

B/R says the Arizona Cardinals need to offer this package to land 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk.

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals need wide receiver help, and Bleacher Report has just the solution.

San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk has been in trade whispers since last offseason, and as the 2024 NFL Draft grows nearer, noise gets louder of his potential departure seemingly by the day.

We've seen teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers show interest in acquiring the versatile wideout, though B/R's Gary Davenport says the Cardinals shouldn't be afraid to throw around some of their hefty draft capital to land the division rival in a proposed trade package for Aiyuk:

Cardinals Get: WR Brandon Aiyuk, 2024 Round 4 Pick (No. 135)

49ers Get: 2024 Round 1 Pick (No. 27), 2024 Round 5 Pick (No. 138)

"We might as well get the biggest obstacle to this trade out of the way. NFL teams aren't generally inclined to trade players within their division. However, just because such trades are rare doesn't mean they don't happen—we recently saw tight end T.J. Hockenson go from the Detroit Lions to the Minnesota Vikings," wrote Davenport.

After re-hashing Monti Ossenfort's "open for business" comments, Davenport dives into why the deal makes sense for both sides:

"Now, whether the Cardinals deal the fourth pick or use it to draft Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (which is what the Cardinals should do), the reality in the desert is that Arizona needs more than one receiver. After the departure of Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore, the Cardinals have the weakest wideout room in the NFL—and it's not particularly close," said Davenport.

"Trading Aiyuk inside the NFC West isn't ideal. But adding a second first-rounder would put the 49ers in position to do some draft-day moving and shaking of their own—or add a quality wideout from a deep class with one pick like Adonai Mitchell of Texas and address another position with the other."

It's true the Cardinals have an absolutely weak wideout room, and that was the case even before names such as Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore departed.

Aiyuk just turned 26-years-old, is considered one of the better receivers in football and has missed just one game the last three years.

Would San Francisco be inclined to deal him to a NFC West rival, however?

The proposed trade package isn't an offer they can't refuse (cue the Godfather music), and the 49ers certainly don't want to deal with seeing a weapon like him twice a year.

On the flip side, Aiyuk is in the final year of his contract and is likely seeking a massive extension - does Arizona feel like they're in position to award that at this moment in time?

It feels unlikely, but you can never truly rule anything out during the NFL offseason.