The Aiyuk Mess

Edition #139

Is Aiyuk overrated? Is Aiyuk underrated? Those are some of the questions we heard before the Super Bowl. After the Super Bowl? All that’s being talked about is his stupid contract situation.

Now, we’re seeing more reports about a trade. Let’s talk about that and more.

The Aiyuk Situation:

Now there’ve been hold-ins all across the NFL this year. These WRs want to get paid and they do deserve it. After all, they’re the ones catching all the passes, whether behind, over, or perfect. Most of all, they’re the ones taking those hard tackles. Every. Single. Time.

You can’t pay every WR $30 million a year. I feel like we’re in that situation with Aiyuk. He’s a great receiver, but I don’t know if he’s worth so much money. Or should he even make a saga out of this thing?

About two days ago (I’m a bit late on this article, sorry), we got the news that he could be traded to the Steelers. According to many inside sources, the offer was pretty good and the 49ers were only one call away from the end of all of this. Ever since that stage, the 49ers have been getting closer and closer to the final result. Now, the only problem is something with the final year of his deal, which should probably be solved by the time you’re reading this article. If it isn’t, the next few paragraphs should say why.

Back to my original thought, does Aiyuk deserve that much money? Is he that good of a receiver?

Many around the league think he’s the most underrated receiver. I guess he kind of is. He’s been a 1,000-yard receiver the last 2 years in a row. His yards number last season was 7th in the league. The problem is, he’s not a good postseason receiver. Neither is he underrated anymore. Yes, I mean it.

After all this crazy stuff, everyone knows Aiyuk’s name. If Aiyuk doesn’t perform well this season, he’s not going to be a fan favorite. I mean, he’s thrown a tantrum the whole offseason. He’s gone on TikTok, online, and more, just to stress that he wants to get paid. Whatever amount he gets paid, whether it be $1 million or $50 million, he needs to do good. Getting paid is only a part of the job.

Here’s Aiyuk’s weakness. He struggles to play deeper into the WR position. You see, he’s not good at that bump-and-run coverage. The reason might shock you. The reason the 49ers even drafted him may shock you. It’s because he didn’t face this kind of coverage at college, which is also why he can’t adjust his route midway when the defense blitzes. One of his worst problems though is his ability to bobble the ball. Every single time I put on a 49ers game, I’ve always seen him bobble at least one reception per game. I’ve never cheered for the 49ers in my life, so I’ve never felt bad, but asking a few 49ers fans about it, they say it feels exhausting and scary. After all, you never know if it’s going to go into someone else’s hands.

By the way, the only reason the 49ers drafted him was because of his athleticism. According to Sports Illustrated…

Usually when teams scout a wide receiver, they watch him face an NFL cornerback and see who wins the matchup. The 49ers couldn’t do this with Aiyuk, because he didn’t face many NFL-caliber corners in the Pac-12. They drafted him based on his athleticism, what they think he can do. Not what he has done already. They made a projection. How many Pac-12-project wide receivers have become Pro Bowlers in the NFL the past 10 years?

So, does he deserve $30 million? He’s a great receiver but he doesn’t deserve that much money. For a guy who was drafted strictly off athleticism and with so many weaknesses, money will not start at that high of an amount.

I don’t even know what I would predict his contract to be. If he’s done a hold-in for so long, then it’s got to have a high AAV, especially with insider Mike Garafalo reporting that guaranteed money isn’t an issue. Justin Jefferson is the current highest-paid receiver clocking in at $35 million. If the 49ers have improved their offer by a lot since spring, then I think it should be right there.

Now, before I tell y’all my final prediction, I’m going to show you what Brandon Aiyuk on the Steelers would look like.

Currently, the Steelers have a pretty bad WR room, so a move for Aiyuk could definitely help. It could also make Justin Fields a star and Russell Wilson the star he was before. This team has improved from last year at every position so getting a guy like Aiyuk (who could bolster the WR room) could give Pittsburgh a chance for the playoffs in their hard division. If I had to grade what type of team the Steelers are, I would say B. Now that they’ve traded Kenny Pickett to the Eagles (who showed exactly why he’s a backup vs. the Patriots in the preseason), even if they brought in two mid-options at QB (Russell Wilson and Justin Fields), they could still perform better than they did with Pickett. I didn’t want to say it, but the Steelers were losing because of Kenny Pickett.

Now back to Aiyuk.

My prediction: $32 million AAV, 4 years, and $60 million guaranteed. Put your thoughts in the comment section below.

By the way, I forgot to add a few quick details.

• John Lynch is not happy with Brandon Aiyuk taking so long to complete a deal.

• Kyle Shanahan does not know what’s going to happen.