49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is having an excellent rookie season in a draft class that looks on track to be very good. His strong showing through 10 weeks wasn’t enough, somehow, to land him even an honorable mention nod in the NFL Wire’s list of the top 12 rookies of 2020.
To avoid a debate about positional value, we’ll stick only to the wide receivers from this year’s class. It was a loaded position group that saw six go in the first round and 11 in the top 50. There are five receivers among the top 12 and seven honorable mentions in the NFL Wire list. The honorable mentions are Tee Higgins, Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb. Chase Claypool is No. 11 on the list. Justin Jefferson is No. 3.
Here are Aiyuk’s ranks among those five receivers. It’s worth noting he’s played one fewer game than every other player on the list:
Receptions: T-4th
Receiving yards: 6th
Receiving touchdowns: T-3rd
Receptions/game: T-3rd
Receiving yards/game: 5th
Rushing attempts: T-2nd
Rushing yards: 1st
Rushing touchdowns: T-1st
Total touchdowns: 2nd
He’s also taken over as the 49ers’ No. 1 receiver with Deebo Samuel out, and he’s responded with an excellent three-week stretch that includes 281 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 catches.
This is not to say he’s the best receiver in the class, or even that he deserved to crack the top 12. The only two receivers in that group are Jefferson and his 762 yards, and Claypool who’s scored nine total touchdowns. However, Pro Football Focus has graded Aiyuk higher than every rookie receiver aside from Jefferson.
Aiyuk should’ve been mentioned with the batch of players at the top though because he’s been just as good as any of the other receivers on that list with Nick Mullens throwing to him for most of the year.
While the rookie won’t get any mid-season accolades from NFL Wire, he does appear on track to be among the most productive receivers from the loaded 2020 class. His role is starting to expand in San Francisco’s offense and the full breadth of his skill set is coming to the fore. Aiyuk may not be on the top-12 list in Week 10, but there’s a strong possibility he’s mentioned there by the time this season is over.