49ers roster: 4 players who deserve more snaps vs. Bears in Week 8

3. 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk

This is one of the most covered stories in the league right now. What happened to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk? The standout rookie has been demoted to a fruitless role on the Niners offense by no fault of his own. Week after week, the people call for Aiyuk to get more involved.

Week after week, they are disappointed.

Admittedly, the second-year wide receiver has a pretty high snap count this season. He’s sandwiched between team-leader Deebo Samuel and veteran Mohamed Sanu in wide receiver snaps with an average of 66 percent of offensive snaps per game. Aiyuk is out on the field more often than not, but that’s easy to forget given how adequately his presence has been utilized.

Aiyuk’s issue is a lack of meaningful snaps. Generally, more snaps equate to more targets, more opportunities, and more production. That’s not the case in Shanahan’s world, where Aiyuk’s 261 snaps have led to just 16 targets and nine receptions.

Those are some bleak numbers for a player who has proven his ability to do so much more.

Some of the issues reside with the quarterback. Shanahan’s loyalty to Jimmy Garoppolo is clearly hindering Aiyuk’s effectiveness. Garoppolo can’t capitalize on Aiyuk’s strength as a deep threat, or at least he’s failed miserably to do so this season. Why put Aiyuk on the field just to take him out of the game with a minuscule target share?

Add this to the list of questions the 49ers have to answer in Week 8 against the Bears.