Expectations were high for Brandon Aiyuk after the San Francisco 49ers made him one of the NFL's highest-paid wide receivers. Coming off a stellar season with 1,342 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, Aiyuk has struggled this year, managing just 119 receiving yards and no touchdowns through three games.
Aiyuk missed the entire offseason program, training camp, and preseason due to his contract standoff, so some rust was anticipated. However, with key offensive playmakers Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel sidelined, many feel the receiver must start performing at the level expected from his massive contract.
Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, speaking on Bay Area radio station KNBR on Wednesday, addressed Aiyuk's lack of production.
"In the end, the full measure of what's happened, Brandon needs to own it," Young said. "'I've come back, I missed camp, and now, it's not happening. So I have to take that on myself.' There's no blame other than yourself. Own it. 'It's me. I'll go fix it.'"
While Aiyuk has only accumulated 119 yards this season, Jauan Jennings, the 49ers' third receiver stepping in for Samuel, recorded 175 yards and three touchdowns during Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Jennings, not Aiyuk, looked like the team's top wideout.
Now that Jennings has proven his ability to torment defenses, opposing teams will likely focus more on him.
Still, Young believes that if Aiyuk takes responsibility for his slow start and continues to improve, defenses won't be able to zero in on Jennings, even with Samuel and McCaffrey out.
"Defenses capitulate when they're under pressure, play after play after play," Young explained. "Like, 'Give me a break!' Defenses want a break, and we're great at not giving breaks. I don't worry about people now answering Jauan, like, 'Oh, can he do it again?' I just worry that Brandon's not leaning in to pressuring those defenses, and he has to. We've got to have that.
"And then, I think, even with our depletion ... we can still thrive because we have the people. ... Brandon Aiyuk, I'm worried about him. And I think we all still remain concerned that we're not seeing a full measure of what he can do. So we've got to get that going."
