SF 49ers: Rookie report-card grades after first quarter of 2020

Round 1: SF 49ers Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk

While Javon Kinlaw was experiencing some early struggles in training camp, Brandon Aiyuk was showing little signs of worry despite not having those minicamps and OTAs to polish his route-running abilities. If there was a concern, however, Aiyuk’s camp hamstring injury thwarted what would have been some much-needed development.

Despite missing the SF 49ers’ Week 1 bout against the Arizona Cardinals because of it, Aiyuk’s efforts since then have been awfully good.

Aiyuk is now pegged as a starter for head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense, partly because of the receiver’s impact over the first four weeks and due to the Niners’ attrition level at the position. Fortunately, Aiyuk has responded positively, both as a solid receiver and as a rushing specialist.

To date, Aiyuk has 109 receiving yards on nine catches. But his 178 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns are what put him into the A-range of grades.

Plus this impressive leaping touchdown from Week 4, of course:

What ensured Aiyuk would get an A-minus grade, however, was the fact he was able to produce such numbers amid all those injuries, particularly to starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who missed 2.5 games with a high-ankle sprain.

One has to figure Aiyuk would have had better overall numbers if Jimmy G was under center during that timeframe instead of quarterback Nick Mullens.

Regardless, Aiyuk’s early impact has been fun to watch.