49ers roster: 4 players who make next superstar leap in 2022

49ers potential superstar No. 2: Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk

In 2021, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk got off to a slow start and partially because head coach Kyle Shanahan was asking him to be the deep threat, drawing away at least one defensive back to open things up underneath.

This didn’t exactly net Aiyuk a lot of targets, and one can fairly question whether or not his own skill set was going to jell with Jimmy Garoppolo, whose own deep-ball efforts aren’t exactly top-notch.

With Trey Lance under center, though, that should change.

Aiyuk figures to be one of the players who benefits most from Lance being under center, the receiver’s ability to beat man coverage is a key element in why the chemistry between these two will be something to watch.

Niners Nation’s Kyle Posey explained why this matters:

"Aiyuk is a receiver that thrives by winning on isolated routes outside of the numbers. That wasn’t Garoppolo’s game. I brought up the fade against the Rams game the other day and how it was such an anomaly. Most of his production in that Week 18 game seems like it’d be right up Lance’s wheelhouse: fades, posts, and slants."

Deebo Samuel is unquestionably going to command a lot of attention from opposing defenses this upcoming season, meaning there’ll be plenty of opportunities going Aiyuk’s way.

Should he capitalize on the bulk of those, there’s no reason to assume Aiyuk can’t emerge as a star player.