Brandon Aiyuk appears to be trending in the right direction after a slow start to the 2024 NFL season.
The 49ers’ star receiver recorded just two receptions for 28 receiving yards in San Francisco’s Week 1 win over the New York Jets before catching four passes for a modest 43 yards in the Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Aiyuk missed the entirety of 49ers training camp due to a contract dispute, and his lack of involvement might have impacted his play to begin the season.
However, according to Pro Football Focus’s “separation percentage” stat, which highlights “how often a receiver beats the coverage to get open rather than benefiting from a defense more focused on limiting yards after the catch,” the 49ers receiver created much more separation in Week 2 than in Week 1 (h/t Niners Wire’s Kyle Madson).
Aiyuk’s Week 1 separation: Four of 12 opportunities (33 percent)
Aiyuk’s Week 2 separation: 12 of 14 opportunities (85 percent)
Despite another underwhelming performance on paper, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan believes Aiyuk, as the metrics above show, had opportunities to make additional plays against the Vikings had San Francisco’s offense executed certain plays properly.
“There was a number of times he had a real good chance to get the ball,” Shanahan said Monday via conference call. “A couple times protections broke down on two of them. One time someone busted a route and just got in the same way, so they covered it up.
“He had a chance to get about four big passes and other factors happened,” Shanahan said. “It’s a team game. There are 11 guys out there that are involved in getting someone the ball. He did have some opportunities where he should have, but not everything went right.”
The 49ers will be without running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, which should force Aiyuk into a feature role.
And if his trends from the first two weeks are any indicator of where he’s at, Aiyuk should be ready to shoulder the workload.
