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Brandon Aiyuk’s rookie season is over even though the 49ers have one more game to play. Despite not getting to play in the season finale because of a high ankle sprain, Aiyuk’s first NFL season was everything the 49ers needed it to be.
After years of struggling to find a high-quality, Pro-Bowl caliber wide receiver in the first round, San Francisco appears to have finally hit a home run. After mortgaging their draft by trading pick Nos. 31, 117 and 176 to move up to No. 25 to draft Aiyuk, San Francisco needed him to be a star.
Aiyuk in his first season posted 60 receptions, 748 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns to go along with six carries for 77 yards and two scores on the ground. He did all of that in just 12 games while working with three different starting quarterbacks, battling through injury, and playing without fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle for large swaths of the season. Pro Football Focus has him graded as the fourth-best of the first-round picks, and the second-best among the five wide receivers taken in Round 1.
It would’ve been understandable if Aiyuk bent under the weight of an entire offense. Instead he thrived.
Over his final eight games, Aiyuk put up 48 receptions for 585 yards and all five of his touchdowns. That tracks for a 96-catch, 1,170-yard, 10-touchdown season across 16 games.
His 60 receptions are the second-most ever by a 49ers rookie. His 748 receiving yards are third-most. His five receiving touchdowns are tied for third-most, and his seven total touchdowns are the third-most for a wide receiver. Aiyuk did all of that in just 12 games without a real offseason.
The 49ers desperately needed Aiyuk to be a star, and he did everything in Year 1 to put himself on that track.