Deebo Samuel had a monster game on Sunday against the Detroit Lions, recording nine receptions for a career-high 189 yards and a touchdown. But his counterpart Brandon Aiyuk — who was expected to be the team’s top wide receiver this season — was on the field for just 26 snaps and had zero receptions.
Naturally, San Francisco 49ers fans and fantasy football followers are dying to know: what gives?
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan helped explain the situation on Wednesday, sort of: Wide receiver Trent Sherfield has been more consistent and readily available at practice, so he’s going to get more snaps than Aiyuk until that dynamic changes. “Trent’s been a hell of a football player since he’s been here,” Shanahan told reporters. “Aiyuk’s been a little inconsistent because he’s been in and out with the injury.”
That logic is straightforward and frankly, fair. Aiyuk had a brilliant rookie season all things considered, but he hasn’t yet earned Elite Wide Receiver status, where you can miss a chunk of practices due to an injury or whatever else and immediately get plugged into the starting lineup on game days. Or, as Shanahan put it, “If he wants to be out there every single play, he’s got to be a lot better than the guy behind him.”
Assuming Aiyuk catches up on practice reps in the next few weeks, one would assume he’ll eventually regain his starting spot. Sherfield, who signed with San Francisco this offseason after a few years with the Cardinals, was perfectly fine against the Lions, nabbing two receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown. Those numbers are not good enough to stave off Aiyuk for an entire season, but it also doesn’t sound like Aiyuk is on track to immediately redeem himself against the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday.