When asked about his teammate Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy didn’t hesitate to speak openly about his struggles. San Francisco has yet to get Aiyuk back to the levels of his 2023 season, but Purdy doesn’t seem worried.
During an October 3 press conference, Purdy was asked about the fifth-year receiver. The 49ers QB backed up Aiyuk, stating that the receiver faces a tall order every time he hits the field.
“I mean, I feel like he’s definitely a guy that when defenses are scheming up our offense, they’ve got to circle 11 and know that if you leave him one-on-one, he’s going to be a target at some point in the game. And so, they do their best of clouding, putting a safety over the top and double-teaming him and all that kind of stuff. But you know, for us, that’s football. We still have plenty of opportunities for us to be able to get him the ball and stuff,” Purdy said.
Through four games, Aiyuk has 13 catches for 167 receiving yards and zero touchdowns. Further, the San Francisco receiver has two drops on the season.
Could Purdy Be Missing Aiyuk?
While Aiyuk has not had a strong start to the year, one advanced metric says that he is getting open. According to Fantasy Points Data’s “Separation Win Rate” metric, Aiyuk’s Week 3 performance is the highest win rate of any player this season.
Top Separation Win Rates of the 2024 Season
+ per @FantasyPtsData
1. Brandon Aiyuk, Week 3 (46.9%)*
2. Nico Collins, Week 1 (43.8%)
3. Mike Evans, Week 2 (43.5%)
4. Jameson Williams, Week 1 (42.9%)
5. CeeDee Lamb, Week 1 (42.9%)
*lol, he’s gonna be fine guys
On top of that, 49ers fans should also be encouraged by his two grabs in Week 4 against the New England Patriots. Aiyuk started the game strong with a 38-yard catch-and-run that set up the Niners’ first points of the game.
#49ers win! 30-13 over the #Patriots. Now 2-2.
Play of the game: Brandon Aiyuk ran with the ball after he caught it #ThatsMyLambo
BA came in with 10 yards after the catch.
Yes, that’s Deebo’s career average YAC per reception, but that’s not the point. Or is it. #GoNiners #FTTB
Later on in the third quarter, when the 49ers were facing a potential 3-and-out, Aiyuk followed up with a spectacular diving catch on 3rd and 9.
Superman catch from Brandon Aiyuk 😳
📺: #NEvsSF on FOX
📱: t.co/waVpO909ge
That being said, Aiyuk has set a very high bar for himself over the past two years. Besides totalling 1342 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 2023, he is also now on a $120 million contract.
49ers Benching Rookie WR
While San Francisco tries to get Aiyuk rolling, they’re also benching WR Jacob Cowing as a punt returner. Cowing muffed a punt in the Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and has averaged 5.3 yards per return.
During the Week 4 win over New England, Cowing suffered a shoulder injury. That led to FB Kyle Juszczyk coming in to field a punt. However, the FB impressed head coach Kyle Shanahan so much by returning the punt for 8 yards that he is now the planned starter going forward.
Shanahan spoke on the situation in a October 2 press conference.
“I don’t care how good your hands are, but just to get thrown in an NFL game and go catch a punt isn’t very easy. Especially when we’re telling him he hasn’t, all he’s got to do is fair catch it. Kyle doesn’t. He’s very confident, he wants to take his opportunity to try to earn that job and try to break tackles and go after it… He’ll be starting the rest of the year,” Shanahan said.
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49ers’ Brock Purdy Speaks Out on Brandon Aiyuk’s Early Struggles