SF 49ers: 3 reasons Brandon Aiyuk gets even better after dominant Week 3 outing

No. 3: Brandon Aiyuk will get an upgrade at quarterback when SF 49ers start Jimmy Garoppolo again

While some Twitter pundits will suggest San Francisco is better off under center with Nick Mullens instead of Jimmy Garoppolo, let’s not overthink things and promote the idea Jimmy G is in any danger of losing his starting job once he returns from his high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 2.

The fact Mullens hit Aiyuk five times for 70 yards is encouraging. And while neither Mullens nor Garoppolo have cannons for arms, the latter’s deep-passing abilities far exceed what Mullens has offered in his nine starts at the NFL level.

At least according to Pro Football Focus last year:

Ideally, Kyle Shanahan would like to involve Aiyuk more as a deep threat, someone capable of stretching the field and hauling in those home-run passes at those opportunistic moments.

Mullens generally shied away from those throws when he was the regular starter late in 2018, and there weren’t an overwhelming number of tosses beyond 20 yards for him in Week 3.

With Garoppolo, however, it’s likely Aiyuk will see some of those chunk-yardage plays increase in his favor once Jimmy G returns.