If the current contract saga between WR Brandon Aiyuk and the San Francisco 49ers doesn't end well, there will be plenty of blame to go around. The 49ers will be blamed for letting things drag on for so long. Aiyuk will be blamed for his part, as well.
The simple truth is that the blame will lie somewhere in the middle. Aiyuk wants to be paid like one of the top wide receivers in the NFL. He reportedly wants to stay in San Francisco. And the 49ers want him to stay. But not at the price he wants to be paid.
So if both sides are to blame, who is more to blame? Is it the 49ers for not being willing to pay more? Or is it Aiyuk for demanding more than he perhaps should be paid? Is Aiyuk worth what he's asking for? Not according to one NFL analyst.
Mark Schlereth, on "The Stinkin Truth Podcast," spoke on the Aiyuk situation on Thursday. Schlereth was asked if the All-Pro wideout is within reason of asking to be paid as one of the top receivers in the league, or if he's not as good as he thinks he is.
"You can always ask for top-five salary," Schlereth said. "You can always want to be the highest-paid guy. You can want all those things. But I think when you look at Brandon Aiyuk realistically, is he already a good receiver? Yeah. Did he do tremendous things last year? Absolutely. There's no question about that.
"Do I think he's worth top-five money, or top-10 money? No. Do I think he's a top-five receiver in the league? No"
Is Aiyuk a top-five wide receiver in the NFL? It's debatable. But last season, he put up numbers that would suggest he was top-five, if only for one season. Aiyuk finished the 2023 regular season with 75 catches for 1342 yards and seven touchdowns. And in the NFC Championship Game, he made one of the biggest catches of the postseason.
"I did the last two San Francisco games last year. I called those two games," Schlereth added. "And when I sit and talk to defensive coordinators, and I've done a bunch of San Francisco games over the years, I don't ever remember having a conversation about Brandon Aiyuk with any defensive coordinator. Never. He wasn't at the forefront of anyone's mind."
Schlereth admitted that the 49ers week 17 game last season was a wash. Only a handful of the starters played in that game against the Los Angeles Rams. But he added that week 16 wasn't a situation like week 17, and he says he still didn't hear the opposing defensive coordinator wondering how they would stop Aiyuk.
Now, in Aiyuk's defense, the 49ers played in Pittsburgh in week one last season. Aiyuk was unstoppable that game, finishing with eight catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers are reportedly trying to trade for the All-Pro wide receiver. So they must have seen something they believe can concern defensive coordinators around the league.
And to be fair, when you're in an offense with Christian McCaffrey, the league's best running back, Deebo Samuel, one of the league's top offensive weapons, and George Kittle, one of the NFL's premier tight ends, you're rarely going to be the focal point. But that's the point Schlereth seems to be making.
"Ultimately, when you talk about Brandon Aiyuk, and you're talking about the San Francisco 49ers, he is the third or fourth option," said Schlereth. And so the way it works, when you're game-planning, when you talk to defensive coordinators, they're like, we can't let this guy beat us, we can't let this guy beat us. And if the other guy beats us, you know, if Brandon Aiyuk is the guy that beats us, we tip our cap and say, 'Hey, you got us.' But we're not going to let Christian McCaffrey or we're not going to let Deebo Samuel beat us."
Schlereth added that you can ask for what you want, but it's not the fault of the 49ers that the receiver market has gotten out of hand like it has. He believes Aiyuk is a great talent, but he just doesn't believe he's worth the money that will make him one of the top-paid players at his position.
Watch the entire podcast here: