While the 49ers quarterback position has been the primary focus this offseason, those debates often miss how talented the rest of the offense is. San Francisco is loaded at the skill positions, especially wide receiver.
In Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers have two of the best receivers in the NFL. For San Francisco, Samuel is 1A while Aiyuk is 1B when it comes to their importance to the offense.
What makes the duo so difficult for defenses is each brings his own unique skillset.
Samuel is a powerful player who is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball. Meanwhile, Aiyuk is a more refined route runner who can shake defenders to get open.
Aiyuk is a rising star. His numbers have gone up every year leading some to wonder if he will have a bigger role in San Francisco’s passing game in 2023.
The answer, probably not.
A catalyst to Aiyuk reaching 1,000 yards for the first time in his career last season was an increase in targets. Aiyuk saw a career high 114 targets. However, the 6.7 targets per game for the wideout weren’t far off the 8 targets per game he posted as a rookie in 2020. Injuries to Deebo Samuel were a common denominator for those two seasons.
After struggling in 2022, Samuel has vowed to come out stronger this season. If he can stay fully healthy and be the player fans saw in 2019 and 2021, Samuel will get more targets and be the 49ers leading wide receiver. San Francisco’s offense does too much through him for it to be any other way.
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