49ers NFL Draft: 5 fun facts about Brandon Aiyuk
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: Brandon Aiyuk Models Game After Odell Beckham Jr.
Brandon Aiyuk mentioned in his presser with 49ers reporters he tended to follow players more than teams growing up.
San Francisco 49ers
And one of those players is someone after which he modeled his game, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Both Beckham And Aiyuk have similar builds, standing nearly at 6-foot-0 each and weighing in right around the 200-pound level. Like Aiyuk, Beckham burst on the NFL Draft scene thanks to his final season at the collegiate level, in which the 2014 first-round pick of the New York Giants reached 1,152 receiving yards on 59 catches.
Aiyuk’s 1,192 receiving yards on 65 grabs his final college year is only slightly better.
“I just feel like he was somebody that I watched a lot because we’re similar in builds, similar playing style,” Aiyuk said when comparing himself to Beckham. “And then, what he does after the catch. I think he was a guy that had a huge upside coming out of college. Not a lot of a lot of numbers, but just a great talent. So, I think just Odell is one of those guys that I watched a lot and somebody that I try to model my game after.”
The 49ers had reported interest in Beckham, interestingly enough.
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Hopefully San Francisco ended up getting its own version of Beckham in Aiyuk.