Getty 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk
We are less than three weeks from the NFL draft, and still there is not much clarity on the 49ers’ situation with star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. It’s clear that the 49ers want him around but it’s also clear that a new contract won’t be easy to work out—Aiyuk is deserving of one of the top receiver contracts in the game, and the 49ers are short on the cap space to make that happen.
There are options, and we’ll get to those. But with the draft looming, the clock is ticking on what might be the best option the 49ers have available: a predraft trade that gives them multiple shots at landing a top-tier replacement for Aiyuk in this talented draft class.
One of the best deals might yet come from the team that might be most desperate for a top receiver out of anyone: The New England Patriots. If the 49ers get serious about trading Aiyuk, the Pats should be one of the first teams they call.
Would 49ers Make a Deal Without a 1st-Rounder Coming Back?
That’s the thinking over at Bleacher Report, where analyst Gary Davenport outlined a handful of potential Aiyuk trades, with the Patriots potential deal being most noteworthy because New England was not only sending a second-rounder this year, but a No. 2 pick next year, as well. Also including was a fourth-round pick.
The full deal: “Patriots Get: WR Brandon Aiyuk, 2024 Round 5 Pick (No. 176)
“49ers Get: 2024 Round 2 Pick (No. 34), 2024 Round 4 Pick (No. 103), 2025 Round 2 Pick”
Of all the packages Davenport put together, the Patriots package was the top one because of the quality of the draft assets. The 49ers would, obviously, like to get a first-round pick for Aiyuk, but New England is giving up the second pick in Round 2 in the proposed deal, plus the 103rd pick this year.
Throw in what is sure to be a Top 50 pick next year, and the 49ers would be well-positioned to move on from Aiyuk while adding other assets. It’s not a first-round pick, but given the fact that Aiyuk is in need of a new contract, the 49ers can’t expect full value in a trade.
Davenport wrote of Aiyuk: “What the 49ers want for Aiyuk and what they can reasonably get aren’t necessarily the same thing. As we have seen time after time in recent years, manufacturing cap space for a splash addition isn’t that difficult. And there are pretenders and contenders alike who would benefit in a big way from bringing in the 26-year-old.”
Brandon Aiyuk Is Under Contract for 2024
We can hear you now: “The 49ers would benefit from KEEPING the 26-year-old.” This is true. But to keep Aiyuk, the 49ers might have to sacrifice another player’s salary, in the short term of long term. The most obvious candidate would be trading away Deebo Samuel.
But there could be other casualties if the team kept Samuel and re-signed Aiyuk—tight end George Kittle or injured linebacker Dre Greenlaw, for example.
The 49ers do have Aiyuk under contract, technically, as he is on the fifth-year option that the team picked up last year. That’s worth $14 million. The 49ers could do nothing and simply sit back and expect Aiyuk to play under that deal.
But Aiyuk has a market value of $24 million per year, deserving of a four-year contract worth $96 million, according to Spotrac. He would almost certainly hold out next summer, similar to the 49ers’ Nick Bosa or Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor last year.
That situation could get messy. A trade—for an asset-packed package like what the Patriots could offer—might be the best solution.