Niners traded up for Brandon Aiyuk at 25 WR

[John232]

1 hour ago, Gravity said:

Maybe we play him as a returner as well. I see he has some experience with that.  

Definitely. I think there’s been a lot of disappointment with all the returnerswe have. Reed, Pettis and James were all big time dudes in college and they haven’t done particularly well imo

[Gravity]

20 minutes ago, John232 said:

Definitely. I think there’s been a lot of disappointment with all the returnerswe have. Reed, Pettis and James were all big time dudes in college and they haven’t done particularly well imo

Agreed. Don't remember the last good returner we had. Maybe it was Michael Lewis "the beer man." Ted Ginn maybe.

[Chrissooner49er]

James just heads for the sideline when he returns and it drives me crazy.

[oldman9er]

enjoyed it.. maybe u will too if time is there..

[oldman9er]

an even better one to listen to and watch...

 

[49erurtaza]

They go through some clips 

[sshle_]

I really like this pick. I get Greg Jennings vibes watching him. He's long and quick with great hands. He will be a legit no. 1 by his 3rd year. 

[Gravity]

Anyone know how good of a blocker he is? I've seen a couple video analysis on him, but that didn't come up.

[Chrissooner49er]

I have really come around to liking this guy. It initially didn't sit well (especially with the trade up!) and when Kyle said he "ran all the routes" my eyebrows shot up because we all know he really hasn't. However, what routes he has already, he runs quite well. He is tough to bring down, has good change of direction and acceleration as well as pretty good hands (and mile-long arms!). So, he is more raw than others they could have taken, but there is a lot to work with here and the kid is willing to learn (from what I have seen and read).

[oldman9er]

5 minutes ago, Chrissooner49er said:

I have really come around to liking this guy. It initially didn't sit well (especially with the trade up!) and when Kyle said he "ran all the routes" my eyebrows shot up because we all know he really hasn't. However, what routes he has already, he runs quite well. He is tough to bring down, has good change of direction and acceleration as well as pretty good hands (and mile-long arms!). So, he is more raw than others they could have taken, but there is a lot to work with here and the kid is willing to learn (from what I have seen and read).

Yeah, my process went like this..

 

Started watching him late in the process.

Was very impressed. Lumped him into that "great options at #31" list.

Got put off by the recent core muscle surgery and lack of some testing numbers. Worried about recovery regardless of expected time. 

So, lumped him into the rd 2 trade back options. 

 

So, a clearly talented WR option that Kyle loves??? yeah well okay. #25? meh.. well okay. 

[Ronnie's Pinky]

13 minutes ago, oldman9er said:

Got put off by the recent core muscle surgery and lack of some testing numbers. Worried about recovery regardless of expected time. 

So, lumped him into the rd 2 trade back options.

So, a clearly talented WR option that Kyle loves??? yeah well okay. #25? meh.. well okay. 

It appears that minor sports hernia surgery is no longer considered a big deal...recall Nick Bosa last year, whose core muscle injury was more serious than Aiyuk's. I don't care about the surgery, and I think the injury probably played into the 49ers' hands because it prevented Aiyuk from running well at the combine. If Aiyuk goes out there and runs a 4.3 (which tracks with his on-film speed), he's more likely to get drafted by either the Vikes or Eagles.

Kyle seems to think he got himself a steal in Aiyuk, and the potential is obvious. We shall see. I think he's going to run away from a lot of defenders at the next level.

[NinerNation21]

21 hours ago, 49erurtaza said:

They go through some clips 

Just watched this video and I came away more excited about Aiyuk. Since Thursday, I've been reading people all of the NFL love this this pick, but fans don't love it. I admit, when we made this pick I was shocked. I also 5 IPA's deep, as well. I was shocked because I thought Aiyuk was a mid-2nd rounder. But, after hearing that the Dolphins were targeting him at 26, I changed my tune and realized I was too low on Aiyuk. 

Here are some things I've noticed since binging his film all weekend:

• His big-time hightlights mainly come off of one route: the stop-and-go streak. ASU loved running that with him. We don't do that ton, but maybe Aiyuk can help stretch the field vertically now.
• When Aiyuk runs a slant, he turns into Deebo Samuel. I've watched about 4 or 5 slants where he guides the defender either up the field or to the sideline, then snaps it off on a slant and snatches the ball out of the air like his hands are magnetized. No body catching, no running before having the ball, he uses his long arms to prevent the defender from even getting close to the ball. Once he has it in his hands, he knows exactly what he wants to do, no dancing, no dead legging, no choppy steps, he gets it and weaves through defenders straight up the field. 
• His field vision is pretty advanced. There were a few plays where I was thinking he needed to read his blockers better, but for the most part, he has a plan when he has the ball. Like I mentioned before, he doesn't dance around, he moves through you or around you. They mentioned in the video about Herm Edward's philosophy of contact courage. This aligns with the 49ers mentality to a tee. Aiyuk has contact courage, and when he's hanging around Kittle and Deebo every day, he's only going to get better.
• He can threaten the defense at all levels. His highlight reel shows he can take the top off, when he's not doing that, he's running slants and screens. I haven't seen a ton of him going over the middle 15 yards down field, but when I did, he's making middle zone defenders look silly. 

Bottom line for me, he's a natural fit in this offense from a skill stand point and a mentality stand point. He's got a rare physical trait for his size in his long arms. Combining that with his solid hands, he's going to be hard to stop on slants and contested catches. Not saying he's the next brandon Marshall, but he won't be a push over when things get close and physical. 

I love his potential and I can him succeeding in this offense. It's not hard to picture him running the same routes Deebo does and succeeding just like him.

[Ronnie's Pinky]

I do not understand people's strong feelings about trading draft picks. I feel like there's a lot of inconsistency to the logic, and a lot of regurgitation of "consensus wisdom" regarding picks, their value, etc. Some people seem to be in love with the idea of trading down in the draft, as if doing so is a universally good strategy. Amassing more late round picks probably is the best way to maximize draft return in the long-term, but it's only a strategy that makes sense if you have the roster space to accommodate a bunch of rookies. Bill Walsh loved trading down, but when he had a superbowl roster already, he famously traded up in the 1st round of the 1985 draft for a wide receiver. You know who he is.

Walsh is famous for loving to trade down in the draft, but one of his trade-downs was an all-time gaffe. In 1981, Walsh moved back two slots in the 2nd round with the Bears, picking up a 5th rounder in the process. Terrific value, except that the player the Bears drafted at that pick was Mike Singletary. Ouch. Many of Walsh's best moves were actually trade-ups. He sent two 2nd rounders out in 1982 in order to acquire a single high 2nd rounder (#29). Sounds like terrible value, but the guy he took there was Bubba Paris. In 1984, Walsh traded up in the 3rd round, sending the Cardinals a later 3rd + a 5th in order to select Guy McIntyre. Walsh got Pierce Holt in 1988 after a trade-up in the 2nd round, as well.

Post-Walsh (or rather, in-between his tenures as GM), again armed with a superbowl-calibre roster in 1994, the 49ers traded their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks to move up in the first round and select a defensive tackle. I don't have to tell you his name, either. The point of all this is that trading either up or down is not inherently valuable, in itself. Also, the best talent evaluators tend to go with "their guys", and will sometimes make selections which seem like head-scratchers to others. Walsh did it sometimes, and Belichick does it constantly. Both Bills would tell you to count the rings.

tl;dr - getting up in arms about the trading of draft picks or where some guy was drafted in comparison to the consensus on his value is silly.

[Chrissooner49er]

3 minutes ago, Ronnie's Pinky said:

I

Walsh is famous for loving to trade down in the draft, but one of his trade-downs was an all-time gaffe. In 1981, Walsh moved back two slots in the 2nd round with the Bears, picking up a 5th rounder in the process. Terrific value, except that the player the Bears drafted at that pick was Mike Singletary. Ouch. Many of Walsh's best moves were actually trade-ups. He sent two 2nd rounders out in 1982 in order to acquire a single high 2nd rounder (#29). Sounds like terrible value, but the guy he took there was Bubba Paris. In 1984, Walsh traded up in the 3rd round, sending the Cardinals a later 3rd + a 5th in order to select Guy McIntyre. Walsh got Pierce Holt in 1988 after a trade-up in the 2nd round, as well.

What?! You mean Bill actually traded up for IOL?! Does Kyle and John know this?    

Anyone else notice our OL got steadily worse after Bill retired?  It was a big part of the reason Steve left us when he did.   

[757-NINER]

1 hour ago, Ronnie's Pinky said:

I do not understand people's strong feelings about trading draft picks. I feel like there's a lot of inconsistency to the logic, and a lot of regurgitation of "consensus wisdom" regarding picks, their value, etc. Some people seem to be in love with the idea of trading down in the draft, as if doing so is a universally good strategy. Amassing more late round picks probably is the best way to maximize draft return in the long-term, but it's only a strategy that makes sense if you have the roster space to accommodate a bunch of rookies. Bill Walsh loved trading down, but when he had a superbowl roster already, he famously traded up in the 1st round of the 1985 draft for a wide receiver. You know who he is.

Walsh is famous for loving to trade down in the draft, but one of his trade-downs was an all-time gaffe. In 1981, Walsh moved back two slots in the 2nd round with the Bears, picking up a 5th rounder in the process. Terrific value, except that the player the Bears drafted at that pick was Mike Singletary. Ouch. Many of Walsh's best moves were actually trade-ups. He sent two 2nd rounders out in 1982 in order to acquire a single high 2nd rounder (#29). Sounds like terrible value, but the guy he took there was Bubba Paris. In 1984, Walsh traded up in the 3rd round, sending the Cardinals a later 3rd + a 5th in order to select Guy McIntyre. Walsh got Pierce Holt in 1988 after a trade-up in the 2nd round, as well.

Post-Walsh (or rather, in-between his tenures as GM), again armed with a superbowl-calibre roster in 1994, the 49ers traded their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks to move up in the first round and select a defensive tackle. I don't have to tell you his name, either. The point of all this is that trading either up or down is not inherently valuable, in itself. Also, the best talent evaluators tend to go with "their guys", and will sometimes make selections which seem like head-scratchers to others. Walsh did it sometimes, and Belichick does it constantly. Both Bills would tell you to count the rings.

tl;dr - getting up in arms about the trading of draft picks or where some guy was drafted in comparison to the consensus on his value is silly.

It's a case by case basis. I don't recall anyone saying all trade-ups are bad and non-essential.

But in the case of this current regime running the team, nothing good has come from them trading up to draft guys they 'love'. Absolutely nothing.

So while I understand your pov, you have to consider the history here and why ppl like myself were not particularly enamored when they trade up for a WR, in one of the deepest WR drafts in recent memory. Especially when you could have stayed pat@31 and still drafted a pretty talented receiver, while keeping your middle round picks that could have addressed other areas of concern. 

Now of course, no one knows the team's true player eval and how they had guys rated. The cliche thing to say after the pick is that the guy they took, they "really liked" and that they were not comfortable with the talent level of the rest of the board if he went before them. That may be true. And it may be fan appeasement on their part with those kinds of statements. But I think most ppl are well within reason to question the motives with that particular trade-up. Especially considering how successful they've been with those middle round picks they so casually discarded.

Edited April 27, 2020 by 757-NINER