49ers news: Do the Niners need to get Brandon Aiyuk more involved?

It’s been a rollercoaster first two weeks for the San Francisco 49ers, who cruised away in a blowout victory to open the season before losing 23-17 in a close contest this past weekend.

Through two games, San Francisco has dealt with some key injuries, as star running back Christian McCaffrey was placed on Injured Reserve before even playing a game, while wide receiver Deebo Samuel is expected to miss a couple of weeks with a calf strain.

Samuel has been a significant part of the 49ers gameplan through two weeks, earning 17 touches in Week 1, which was followed by 12 touches in Week 2. In the first two games, Samuel has 13 catches for 164 yards and a rushing touchdown.

One notable name who hasn’t seen his name called much is wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who signed a massive four-year, $120 million just before the season, cashing in on a breakout 2023 year.

Through two weeks, Aiyuk has just six catches for 71 yards, ranking fourth on the team in receiving behind Samuel, George Kittle, and even Jauan Jennings.

Do the 49ers need to get the wideout more involved?

Looking back at Week 1, the All-Pro played in 42 of the team’s offense snaps, not seeing his usual workload, and had some opportunities, notably dropping a dime from Brock Purdy in the end zone on a drive that ended in a field goal.

In Week 2, there were opportunities for Aiyuk, but the 49ers were unable to capitalize on those chances, leading to another pedestrian stat line for the top receiver.

“There was actually, there were a number of times he had a real good chance to get the ball,” head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged on Monday. “A couple times protections broke down on two of them. One time someone busted a route and just got in the same way, so they covered it up. But he had a chance to get about four big passes and other factors happened. It’s a team game. There are 11 guys out there that are involved in getting someone the ball. He did have some opportunities where he should have, but not everything went right.”

One of those chances came in the red zone where Aiyuk seemed to be streaking open on a corner as Brock Purdy rolled to his left, but the quarterback faced a rusher coming in and was late on the throw.

Still, it’s unfortunate that Purdy and Aiyuk haven’t gotten on the same page after the two were one of the most efficient duos in the NFL a season ago.

Does some of the issues have to do with Aiyuk’s conditioning?

“No, I think B.A. (Brandon Aiyuk) looks 100-percent,” Shanahan said. “I think what he meant [about feeling at 85 percent] is he is playing about 85-percent of what he usually plays. But just in terms of him running stuff and health, he’s 100-percent, he just, I think he’s getting like 85-percent of playing time.”

The 49ers need Aiyuk to play at a high level if they want to achieve their level of success, and that requires getting back on track with Brock Purdy.

That’ll be much needed this weekend with Samuel out of the picture, placing a further emphasis on Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings in the passing game.