Photo courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan recently expressed how important it is for rookie wide receiver
Brandon Aiyuk to get as much work as possible during training camp. The first-round pick won't be able to do that now, as he is expected to miss the remainder of training camp with a mild hamstring strain.
"We're expecting him to play a lot this year, just like we were expecting Deebo and Jalen last year,"
Shanahan said last week. "When it's that way, you've got a lot of pressure on you, so you can't miss a day, or you get behind, and he's doing that both mentally and physically."
Aiyuk is week-to-week, and the 49ers are fortunate that the injury wasn't worse. That, of course, means the rookie won't get the valuable reps for which Shanahan was hoping.
"Yeah, you get frustrated a little bit when it happens, but it's just happened too much to me that, over your career as a coach, that it's just part of the game," Shanahan told reporters via Zoom on Tuesday. "You can't sit there and dwell on it. You try to look at, was anything done wrong or anything like that? Not at all.
"Aiyuk's been in great shape. He's working his tail off out there, and sometimes that stuff just happens while you're going through a training camp. That has been the challenge, just this training camp not being quite as long."
Injuries have impacted the 49ers receivers group. Both
Deebo Samuel (foot) and
Richie James Jr. (hand) suffered injuries in June.
Shanahan remains hopeful that Samuel will be ready for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, but James' injury will likely force him to miss games.
Jalen Hurd suffered a torn ACL during training camp, ending his season.
Now, you have Aiyuk's injury.
"So, it doesn't leave much room for error with that type of stuff, but it happened to Bosa last year," Shanahan continued. "When you've got guys who come in prepared, that gives them a chance when they don't get all these reps. If Aiyuk didn't come in the way that he did come in, he'd be screwed now with an injury. That's what's been cool about him that he's given himself a chance to overcome something like this.
"I think we got pretty good news with it because we thought at first it was a bad pull and it ended up just being a mild one. So, hopefully, it's only one, two weeks."
San Francisco made Aiyuk the No. 25 overall pick in April's draft. He recorded 98 receptions for 1,666 yards with 11 touchdowns in two seasons with the Sun Devils after transferring from Sierra College.
Shanahan says Aiyuk has to remain focused as he rehabs the injury.
"He's going to stay into it mentally and stuff," Shanahan said, "but no matter how mentally you stay into it, when you hear in the huddle, and you go out there full speed, it's a little bit harder. Hopefully, he'll get some time, probably about 10 days, hopefully, before we get back to Arizona, and we'll be able to catch him up then."
Mac Jones versus Justin Fields or Trey Lance. That is the big debate when it comes to the San Francisco 49ers and the 2021 NFL Draft. While the latter two names are more likely to excite the fanbase, there is a lot of speculation that the former might be the pick at No. 3 overall.
One former 49ers defender, cornerback Richard Sherman, doesn't assume it will be Jones, though. He actually sees Fields as the perfect fit for San Francisco, assuming Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson are taken with the first two selections.
Cornerback Tre'Davious White, the most recent guest on the Cris Collinsworth Podcast, which Sherman co-hosts, also believes the 49ers will select Fields. It isn't easy to fathom that San Francisco surrendered multiple first-round picks and a
No one is questioning Justin Fields' athleticism. Some question the former Ohio State quarterback's ability to transition from the college game to the pros quickly. Mark Sanchez recently joined The Pat McAfee Show and explained why Fields' ability to learn an NFL playbook might not take as long as some might be anticipating. Maybe all of his skeptics, who want to find ways to bring the quarterback down, are wrong.
"For Justin, this guy, Dr. Goldman, he's a sports psychologist; I talked to him yesterday," Sanchez said (h/t to Jordan Cohn of 95.7 The Game). "He has some interesting
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch were in attendance for Mac Jones' pro day on March 30. It was their first time watching one of their quarterback draft options in-person following the team's trade from No. 12 to the No. 3 spot.
By executing the trade over a month before the start of the draft, Shanahan and Lynch don't have to work in secrecy. It was a point the Niners head coach made during a March 29 press conference.
"When you're sitting at 12 and stuff, I don't want to go to a bunch of quarterback pro days and things like that," Shanahan said. "Now that you move up to three, you don't have to hide as
ESPN's Mel Kiper isn't among the segment of national writers who are backing off a bit from the narrative that former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones to the San Francisco 49ers at No. 3 is a near-lock. The analyst had Jones going to the Niners in his latest mock draft and later joined ESPN's Get Up! to discuss the projection.
With Trevor Lawrence expected to land with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Zach Wilson with the New York Jets, and Jones anticipated to join San Francisco, Get Up! host Mike Greenberg asked Kiper if he considers the first three selections in this year's draft to be a lock.
"I think they are a lock, right now," Kiper responded. "And
