Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was among the first players to work with Trey Lance after the San Francisco 49ers drafted the quarterback. The two had the same speed trainer and were in Orange County together, so they got together. Lance immediately impressed the second-year receiver.
"Every single day, he was there, ready to work, no matter what he had going on," Aiyuk shared with reporters on Friday. "So, just the character of the kid, as a young kid, I just saw that early on."
While Lance to Aiyuk could be a staple of the 49ers offense for years to come, the receiver figures to catch most of his passes this season from a different quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo is slated to be the team's starter, and there is no reason to believe that the Garoppolo-to-Aiyuk combination won't frustrate opposing defenses this season.
Aiyuk reportedly shined in his first two training camp practices, leading to high expectations for the receiver's sophomore NFL campaign. In addition, he appears to have forged strong chemistry with Garoppolo, something that he says started late in 2020.
Garoppolo was asked about a play earlier this week that saw the quarterback get out of trouble, roll out, and hit Aiyuk downfield. Garoppolo admitted that he didn't have a chance to work with Aiyuk during the players' time off, and the play had everything to do with the chemistry the two have already developed.
"He's just one of those guys, his body language, it allows me to anticipate throws," the quarterback said.
Garoppolo added that a quarterback typically has to direct receivers on where to go when a play breaks down. However, that wasn't the case with this specific play.
"He broke literally when I broke, when we escaped the pocket together," Garoppolo added. "It was kind of weird, but it's just guys like that, when you can trust them with their body language ... it just it gives you confidence as a quarterback, I guess."
On Friday, Aiyuk was asked about that play and the chemistry he has with Garoppolo.
"I would just say there are certain plays last season, in practice toward the end of the season, where we were just on the same page without even having to talk about it, without having to go over it," Aiyuk said. "We just had the same type of feel for certain situations, and we saw that a little bit again.
"I think if I'm correct, on the play that you're talking about, that was really just a ball by him. Just great accuracy while rolling out."