Aiyuk seamlessly stepping up as leader in 49ers' WR room

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SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers' wide receivers are without a key member, but Brandon Aiyuk has seamlessly developed into the leader in the room. 

It’s not necessarily a young group because of NFL experience, but many of the receivers on San Francisco's roster are new to the building. Aiyuk, who is heading into his third season with the club, understands his role as a leader in the wide receiver room. 

Deebo Samuel is expected by Kyle Shanahan to report by mandatory minicamp but remains away from the facility. In his absence, Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings are the only receivers who have game experience in the head coach’s scheme. 

“Three people played in this offense, and there are two of them here right now,” Aiyuk said on Tuesday. “I have to take that ownership and try to help the young guys, especially. I get to see now, last year and the year before, being the young guy, just understanding and kind of seeing a different view of what they want from me. 

“I have more of an understanding of why they did certain things.” 

In his rookie season, Aiyuk leapt onto the NFL scene as the top-producing wideout on the 49ers' roster. The Arizona State product’s second season didn't start out as smoothly, but after a tough love session with Shanahan, the wideout turned over a new leaf -- and that attitude is still evident now.

It appears Aiyuk has already taken some of the younger receivers under his wing to prevent them from going through the same adversity he faced just one season ago. The third-year wideout went into detail on why players can be resistant to what is asked of them at the next level. 

“Everyone has been the guy where they come from,” Aiyuk said. “So there’s not a lot of times where you have to take things or change things up or do something differently. You think that things that have worked for you in the past are going to continue to work for you. It’s kind of hard to get out of that.

“Really take in coaching when you’ve done things a certain way. It’s really being coachable, understanding coaching and just understand that people telling you stuff are people that have been in this a long time. They’ve seen a lot. They’ve developed receivers or even other positions. It’s being coachable.” 

Along with Aiyuk, Jennings and Samuel, the 49ers' receiver room includes:

  • Ray-Ray McCloud - 5th season 
  • Marcus Johnson - 6th season 
  • KeeSean Johnson - 3rd season
  • Malik Turner - 5th season 
  • Taysir Mack - Rookie 
  • Austin Mack - 2nd season
  • Tay Martin - Rookie
  • Danny Gray - Rookie

As Aiyuk noted, trust in the coaching staff has made a significant difference in his own performance. Nearly 90 percent of his receiving yards were recorded after the club’s Week 6 bye in 2021 following his talk with Shanahan.

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Aiyuk hopes that with his help, that type of skip in production can be avoided for the team's younger receivers, and even those who are new to the organization.

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