SANTA CLARA — Brandon Aiyuk’s numbers are way down.
You could say that he’s rusty because he missed the entire offseason, and that’s true. But his numbers dipped in the playoffs last season, too. He caught just 9 passes in three playoff games. And so far through four games this season, he has just 13 catches. Which means he’s been averaging a mere three catches per game since January.
Clearly, opposing defenses have adjusted to how the 49ers use Aiyuk. And Brock Purdy has noticed.
“I mean, I feel like he’s definitely a guy that when defenses are scheming up our offense, they’ve got to circle 11 and know that if you leave him one-on-one, he’s going to be a target at some point in the game,” Purdy said on Thursday. “And so, they do their best of clouding, putting a safety over the top and double-teaming him and all that kind of stuff. But you know, for us, that’s football. We still have plenty of opportunities for us to be able to get him the ball and stuff. And that’s something that throughout the game plans and stuff throughout the week, we still find a way to make it work. So, I know we’re going to get him plenty of targets and plays coming, so we’re excited about it.”
TRANSLATION: Teams are focusing their attention primarily on Aiyuk for the first time in his career and he’s not responding the way a true no. 1 receiver should. In addition, he’s creating one-on-one matchups for other players such as Jauan Jennings, so there’s absolutely no reason to force the ball to Aiyuk.
He’s the most expensive decoy in football.
Download and follow The Best 49ers Podcast.
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
