49ers roster: 4 second-year players to watch most in 2021

No. 1: 49ers Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk

Of all the Niners’ second-year players to watch the most this season, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is easily the one generating the most excitement.

Aiyuk nearly captured Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s franchise record for most receiving yards by a 49ers rookie with 748 yards on 60 catches in 2020. And that was over the course of just 12 regular-season games and with three different quarterbacks trying to feed him the ball.

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With some consistency now (hopefully) under center, and San Francisco hoping for a much cleaner slate of health this season, Aiyuk’s leap from 2020 could be massive in 2021.

In fact, the 49ers have essentially determined Aiyuk as their No. 1 wide receiver on the depth chart, especially with third-year pro Deebo Samuel coming off his own injury-plagued year a season ago.

And that’ll likely point to Aiyuk getting plenty of targets over the course of 2021.

Aiyuk might not be receiving the same kind of attention as another top wide receiver from last year’s NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson. But Aiyuk is certainly in the discussion of being one of those top pass-catching weapons poised to break out in a massive way in year two of his professional career.

If so, Niners fans certainly should enjoy watching Aiyuk over the course of the season.