When the San Francisco 49ers traded up in the first round to draft Brandon Aiyuk, a wide receiver out of Arizona State, it was a move met with some skepticism. Sure, the organization needed to replace Emmanuel Sanders, who was on his way to New Orleans, but was Aiyuk going to be the best fit in Kyle Shanahan’s offense?
If there was one card that Aiyuk had to play as he faced a transition to the NFL, it was his athleticism. Aiyuk showed some explosiveness after the catch at Arizona State, and sometimes that translates very well to the NFL.
It certainly did on Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles:
AIR AIYUK!
Brandon Aiyuk hurdles into the end zone! @THE2ERA
📺: #PHIvsSF on NBC
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/8qeyjAHMyI pic.twitter.com/IrBtZu83mU— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2020
Kyle Shanahan, who does a masterful job at scheming up designs to get his players in position to be successful, calls a little screen for his rookie wide receiver. Aiyuk has some blockers in front of him, but the burst is special as he accelerates into the secondary. Then he bounces off a few tackles and finishes it off with a hurdle in the open field to get into the end zone.
Maybe he will be the answer after all?
