SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ Kyle Shanahan stuck to his convictions heading into last month's NFL draft.
The 49ers' always-confident head coach _ who had been labeled arrogant by some at previous stops _ took a sizable risk by trading three picks to move up six spots to No. 25 in the first round to take his favorite receiver in the draft, Arizona State's Brandon Aiyuk, despite his team not having any selections in rounds 2, 3 or 4.
The move was a surprise given much of the talk surrounding San Francisco before the draft centered around moving back for more picks. The team could have used help in the secondary, depth along the offensive and defensive lines, and perhaps a tight end to lighten the work load for All-Pro George Kittle.
Instead, Shanahan made a bet on the strength of his ability to scout receivers. He centered on Aiyuk, a player with just one year of significant college production who started at Sierra College in Rocklin rather than joining a major program out of high school.
"He can play the X, he can play the Z, he can play the F," Shanahan said. "He's got the speed to get on top. He's got the quickness, to play in the slot. He's got the toughness to go over in the middle. And the guy is just completely committed to me in to being as good as God ever intended him to be."
Positional versatility at receiver is important, particularly for a receiver-needy team hoping to get back to the Super Bowl after losing top wideout Emmanuel Sanders in free agency to New Orleans Saints, a top rival in the NFC.
The challenge for Aiyuk will be getting up to speed quickly despite not having a traditional offseason program because the coronavirus pandemic. It's unclear when teams will get back on the field to prepare for the upcoming season even though the league released the 256-game regular season schedule last week. The 49ers' began their "virtual" offseason program April 27 and Aiyuk has been cutting his teeth as a pro through video conferences with coaches and teammates. The team's Santa Clara facility remains closed until further notice.
Once Aiyuk gets on the field, the 49ers are hoping he can continue the trajectory of little-known prospect stuck behind N'Keal Harry on the Sun Devils' depth chart in 2018, when he had 33 catches for 474 yards, to a prized first-round draft pick.
"I was a one-year starter, so I feel like for me it's just going to keep on going up," Aiyuk said. "I still feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of what I can do as a football player and at this position. I still have a lot to learn, so I have a lot to grow in my game. I just think that for me, the ceiling is limitless. I don't think there's a ceiling to my game. That's another exciting part because I know that I can continue to get better."
Once of Shanahan's closest friends, NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms, has said multiple times Aiyuk reminds Shanahan of Isaac Bruce, the former Rams great who will be enshrined in the 2020 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Aiyuk wasn't the biggest name in a draft class projected to be historically great at the position. Ceedee Lamb, Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy were all considered better prospects by most observers and media analysts. But Shanahan said Aiyuk was his favorite receiver while mentioning Lamb as another.
Shanahan, who helped turn Kittle into a star despite never having more than 22 catches in a season in college, indicated he was more interested in Aiyuk's skill set and ceiling than his statistical production at Arizona State, which is hardly considered an elite program in the struggling Pac-12.
Shanahan even said he would have considered Aiyuk at pick No. 13, where the 49ers were originally slotted before they moved down one spot to take defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. Though if Kinlaw had been gone, San Francisco would have likely traded down further than 14 and still focused on Aiyuk.
"Just watching him, the guy, what he's put on tape this year at Arizona state and getting to meet the person, everything he did there, he was more than a viable option there at 13," Shanahan said. "And the fact that we were able to get him late, I feel very fortunate and I'm very happy for the Niners today."
Aiyuk is known for his explosiveness and making big plays after the catch, which makes him an ideal fit in Shanahan's offense that's proven to get pass catchers open in space. He averaged 11.1 yards after the catch in 2019.
With run-after-the-catch dynamos already on the roster in Kittle and second-year wideout Deebo Samuel, Aiyuk could give the 49ers another incendiary weapon for Shanahan's arsenal.
"This guy wants to be great. I want someone like that," Shanahan said. "And I think he has the tools to be great. I think he has the mindset to be great and I promise you schematically we're going to give him every chance to do that."
Aiyuk didn't run particularly well at the scouting combine, however, with a pedestrian 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, ranking in the 55th percentile among receivers. He participated in the combine with a core muscle injury that required surgery after missing ASU's bowl game and the Senior Bowl.
Yet he still posted numbers in the 90th percentile or better in the 10-yard split (1.52, 93rd percentile), vertical jump (40 inches, 93rd percentile) and broad jump (128 inches, 90th percentile). Shanahan said Aiyuk's tracking data during games indicates he's faster than his 40 time shows.
"There was talk throughout the league that Aiyuk was one of the guys getting hot," general manager John Lynch said. "And I think that's just because people started just watching the film. And, albeit the one-year starter, what he put on film was extremely impressive and we decided to pounce and we gave up a lot for it and we sure hope it's worth it, but he's a guy that we value tremendously."
