What's wrong with San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk? It's a question fans and media members have been asking for the past month. The second year player carried high expectations into this season, following a strong rookie campaign. But so far, Aiyuk has been underwhelming. Is it Aiyuk? Is it the coaching staff? Just what is it that is making this potential star so pedestrian in 2021?
49ers General Manager John Lynch, and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have had plenty to say about Aiyuk this season. And both spoke on the receiver this week during their respective appearances on KNBR Radio. Lynch appeared on the Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks Show on Thursday, while Shanahan spoke on The Murph and Mac Show on Friday morning.
You can file this under "O" for obvious, but the general manager and head coach both seem to believe Aiyuk is dealing with a sophomore slump. Though Lynch seems to prefer the word "struggles" over the word "slump." I'm not sure what the difference is, but I'll defer to the experts.
Lynch said, "There's been so much discussion around Brandon, and I think that's because everyone saw the talent in his first year. Everybody saw the talent, a lot of people who wanted to draft that young man, and we were fortunate to have done that.
"A lot of players run into second-year slumps. It's not 'slump.' I don't want to say that, but struggles. You've got to fight through that; you really do. What I can tell you is Brandon's had a couple of good weeks of practice. He really has. And when you start stacking those, my experience in this league is that it starts translating to the game. You're in the trust of people, and people start coming to you."
Shanahan added, "I do think he's reaching strides. I do think he's getting better. You're going to very rarely hear me say that someone's just arrived and reached that level. I always want guys to get better, and I think I stated it a couple of days ago, that Brandon had a real good rookie year, but something that I thought he still needed to prove on coming back, and like a lot of guys have done, just in my history and experience going through this, some guys have a little bit of a sophomore slump. And that's how it was for him in training camp, and that's what's led into the season.
"He's trying to work his way out of that. We're trying to help him work his way out of that, and I believe he is. Some guys, when they get in that little sophomore slump, as I just called it, they kind of go in the tank, and you've got to wait a while. B.A. hasn't done that. He's been grinding each day. I know he's frustrated. I know he wants to do more, and we want him to do more too. And I believe he's taking the right approach to get there, and once he can get back to where he was at last year, I expect him not to stop there because B.A.'s got a lot of talent, and he's made of the right stuff, and I do believe in him, and I believe he'll get back to where we need him to be."
The question was asked of Lynch surrounding ball distribution, and if the the 49ers have a problem there. There has been growing concern that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has primarily been targeting Deebo Samuel, and few others. Isn't this a problem?
"You're right. That's not sustainable," said Lynch. "Deebo, as great as he is, we put him in at the end of that game as a kick returner because he's so capable of making a play at any given time. But it's funny, when you put him out there, how everybody blocks because they know he can go the distance.
"You can't just rely on one guy, and we won't do that going forward. And yes, it's important that we get more people involved, and Brandon is certainly important in that effort."
So what really is Aiyuk's issue? Is he out of shape? Is he not practicing well?
Lynch responded, "Not any one issue. I think we talked about it again, I think during the bye week. Every time you start making some growth, if you're running through some soft-tissue stuff, every time you start kind of taking that next step, then you get knocked off, and you lose those reps with a certain quarterback.
"And at the same time, in our preseason, Trent Sherfield was playing well, so he kind of emerged. And now, all of a sudden, Brandon's got to earn that back. So, it's been a journey, but listen, nobody's closing the door on him. I think we all know how important he is.
"I'd be really concerned if I had seen like, 'Man, this guy just fell off a cliff in terms of his ability. It's not there.' And that's not what I'm seeing. Or if the kid's not working. No, he is working. Again, it's about stacking days, and when you do that, it starts paying off. That's been my experience. And so, I'm hopeful that time is coming here soon. We need it to — like, Sunday would be good."
Yes, Sunday would be good. The 49ers need Aiyuk to step up from here on out. Come to think of it, the 49ers need everyone to step up from here on out.