San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk isn't hard to find in the news lately, whether it be the abundance of trade scenarios offered up by hungry fanbases in hot pursuit of his services or the second-team All-Pro comically squeaking into the bottom of ESPN's top 10 wide receiver list.
But, at least for a moment, let's forget about all the incessant noise and drama surrounding Aiyuk's recent trade request and concentrate on the obscene level of value the 26-year-old brings to the 49ers offense.
While Aiyuk notched an impressive career-high of 17.9 yards per catch on 75 receptions in 2023 — good for second overall in the NFL — there's another statistic that flat-out jumps off the screen.
Of those 75 catches that Aiyuk hauled in last season, a whopping 81.3 percent of them either led to a first down or a touchdown. To the surprise of likely no one, he landed first overall in that category.
To put that remarkable stat in even deeper perspective, Aiyuk cleared George Kittle by nearly 20 percent and toppled Deebo Samuel by close to 30 percent. If that doesn't paint the picture of just how irreplaceable the four-year wide receiver has become for this 49ers offense, it would be extremely difficult to convey what does.
Simply stated, when the lion's share of your stud wide receiver's catches are either extending drives or ending them by way of a touchdown, it would seem beyond preposterous to even entertain the idea of trading a player that's performing at such a ridiculously high level.
From what's been reported thus far, the 49ers front office has no intention of doing such a thing.
While hearing that from various NFL insiders probably offers some semblance of relief for 49ers fans, agreeing to an extension with Aiyuk and getting him into training camp would do a whole lot more to finally appease the masses.
