The NFL on Thursday shut down any talk of in-person workouts at team facilities when they extended the offseason program through June 26. A ban on team-sanctioned practices hasn’t stopped quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo from getting more acquainted with his wide receivers. A day after second-year receiver Jalen Hurd posted photos from a workout with Garoppolo on San Jose State’s campus, 49ers first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk shared photos from the same session.
Aiyuk’s work with Garoppolo is even more important than Hurd’s. The rapport between a quarterback and a receiver is something that can’t be built over video chats.
There’ll still be a learning curve in the offense for Aiyuk, and the work we see from him early in the year will likely mirror Deebo Samuel’s workload early in 2019 when his touches were largely built on screens and end arounds. However, the work between Aiyuk and Garoppolo in June will allow them to work on the minutiae of the quarterback-wide receiver relationship. The two can work on things like timing, ball placement, and depth on certain routes.
San Francisco made a big bet on Aiyuk by trading up in the draft to get him, and this early work with Garoppolo could wind up making a big difference on the impact Aiyuk will have in his first season.
