WR Brandon Aiyuk, SF (3 Viewers)

[jumper]

It's questionable to begin with that Aiyuk is an upgrade over Cooper.

This is the second time I saw something like this posted in this thread. To me, Aiyuk is clearly better, and I'm surprised that is not a unanimous perspective.

I have nothing against you thinking this. If you want to assert that "Aiyuk is clearly better" without seeing how he does in a different offensive scheme and coaching regime, be my guest.

My take is Amari Cooper has been very successful on 3 different teams and with varied offensive schemes. I have zero doubt that if Coop went to the Niners, he would continue to be successful.

I have much less confidence that Aiyuk would without a doubt be just as successful transitioning from the Shanahan system Niners, to the Browns. For every guy like Cooper or Diggs who transitions to a new team and is still a stud, there's plenty of examples of WRs (well, every position really) who transition and are exposed as much less skilled then Fantasy owners believed them to be.

 

[Boston]

Also, I'd forgotten about this.

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From April 24, 2024

REPORTS: The Pittsburgh Steelers are aggressively pursuing a Brandon Aiyuk trade and the Steelers would be “surprised” if they don’t land Aiyuk. Of note: Pittsburgh has the 20th overall pick. The Niners could look at that as equal value for Aiyuk if they can’t get a deal done. Then, the Niners could draft an OL - a huge need and a WR - to replace Aiyuk early in the draft.

this seems to much like a rebuild move...which would make this niner fan cry. they're still in the window.

Agreed…would make much more sense pre-draft when the player would be drafted to help them win a title this year.

 

[jm192]

It's questionable to begin with that Aiyuk is an upgrade over Cooper.

This is the second time I saw something like this posted in this thread. To me, Aiyuk is clearly better, and I'm surprised that is not a unanimous perspective.

I also think there's a real debate between Aiyuk and Cooper.

Aiyuk had slightly better stats this year. Cooper missed 1 more game than Aiyuk. He's on a worse offense. He has less play makers around him. He had bad quarterback play. People remember Flacco. But 40% of the team's passes were thrown by Dorian Walker, Jeff Driskel, and Dorian Thomson Robinson.

Cooper was statistically better than Aiyuk in 2022. Cooper has done it across multiple teams: Oakland, Dallas, Cleveland.

Cooper is the #1 WR. And after the Chubb injury, he didn't have a lot of talent on offense to shift the focus off of him.

Aiyuk has a team full of playmakers with Deebo, CMC, Kittle drawing the defense's attention. Aiyuk has Purdy who has been one of the most efficient QB's in the NFL during his tenure. He has Shannahan who is an offensive genius.

I think if we take away the amazing offense, the brilliant coach, the hyper efficient QB, Aiyuk may not be as good.
I know Cooper can do it without those things.

 

[pinkstapler]

As a Steelers fan, I really don't love it. Feels like paying twice. And with no real answer still at QB, I dunno... I guess it'll make games more fun to watch but I don't see it somehow making us a SB competitor unless Russ reverses time or Fields makes leaps and bounds of improvement. And regardless, neither feel like the QB for the future which we'd be tying up a lot of capital in for a WR.

Also, pure speculation, but Pickens mentals have never struck me as great. I get a feeling similar to Meno, I don't think it will be long before Pickens is making waves off the field. If not just outright giving up on routes and not making blocks on the field, like he's already shown before.

As a fantasy player with super high Deebo and Ricky Pearsall ownership, I'm not sad to see Aiyuk leave the niners though.

 

[Skipdog77]

Tomlin...

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Can always tell something is going on when a guy has Muppet-expression going on at the podium.

 

[Boston]

As a Steelers fan, I really don't love it. Feels like paying twice. And with no real answer still at QB, I dunno... I guess it'll make games more fun to watch but I don't see it somehow making us a SB competitor unless Russ reverses time or Fields makes leaps and bounds of improvement. And regardless, neither feel like the QB for the future which we'd be tying up a lot of capital in for a WR.

Also, pure speculation, but Pickens mentals have never struck me as great. I get a feeling similar to Meno, I don't think it will be long before Pickens is making waves off the field. If not just outright giving up on routes and not making blocks on the field, like he's already shown before.

As a fantasy player with super high Deebo and Ricky Pearsall ownership, I'm not sad to see Aiyuk leave the niners though.

Wonder how much of the pursuit of Aiyuk is tied into not trusting Pickens.

 

[Deamon]

As a Steelers fan, I really don't love it. Feels like paying twice. And with no real answer still at QB, I dunno... I guess it'll make games more fun to watch but I don't see it somehow making us a SB competitor unless Russ reverses time or Fields makes leaps and bounds of improvement. And regardless, neither feel like the QB for the future which we'd be tying up a lot of capital in for a WR.

Also, pure speculation, but Pickens mentals have never struck me as great. I get a feeling similar to Meno, I don't think it will be long before Pickens is making waves off the field. If not just outright giving up on routes and not making blocks on the field, like he's already shown before.

As a fantasy player with super high Deebo and Ricky Pearsall ownership, I'm not sad to see Aiyuk leave the niners though.

Wonder how much of the pursuit of Aiyuk is tied into not trusting Pickens.

Don't think too much. Pitt could really use another receiving option.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

And now Aiyuk isn’t trending on Twitter, and the latest report is there’s no trade in place.

1.5 pages of posts about an unconfirmed nothingburger.

Tomlin’s response was literally a non-answer, but somehow that’s meaningful?

Cmon guys. We’re supposed to be better than this.

 

[Terpman22]

And now Aiyuk isn’t trending on Twitter, and the latest report is there’s no trade in place.

1.5 pages of posts about an unconfirmed nothingburger.

Tomlin’s response was literally a non-answer, but somehow that’s meaningful?

Cmon guys. We’re supposed to be better than this.

LOL this is almost getting as bad as the Rashee Rice thread.

 

[Boston]

As a Steelers fan, I really don't love it. Feels like paying twice. And with no real answer still at QB, I dunno... I guess it'll make games more fun to watch but I don't see it somehow making us a SB competitor unless Russ reverses time or Fields makes leaps and bounds of improvement. And regardless, neither feel like the QB for the future which we'd be tying up a lot of capital in for a WR.

Also, pure speculation, but Pickens mentals have never struck me as great. I get a feeling similar to Meno, I don't think it will be long before Pickens is making waves off the field. If not just outright giving up on routes and not making blocks on the field, like he's already shown before.

As a fantasy player with super high Deebo and Ricky Pearsall ownership, I'm not sad to see Aiyuk leave the niners though.

Wonder how much of the pursuit of Aiyuk is tied into not trusting Pickens.

Don't think too much. Pitt could really use another receiving option.

Totally agree they need another option but I don’t see Pickens as someone you can really trust or as someone you want to give big $ to…if you did I don’t think you would have to give up assets and give out a monster contract to Aiyuk…and if they do obtain Aiyuk I don’t picture Pickens signing a second contract with the Steelers,

 

[Jail]

I agree that he could have handled this better, but SF clearly misread the market. He was asking for 28 and they would only do 26. Then all these other guys signed mega deals and made 28 too low.

That’s what we’ve heard. We actually don’t know if that’s accurate, or how much would have been guaranteed.

We have a bad habit (myself included) of regurgitating guys like Maioco & treating it as gospel.

Yeah that's true. We don't know the exact numbers, but I thought I'd read that BA acknowledged they were close to a compromise until more contracts were pushing the market higher. Perhaps I was mistaken. Maioco seems to be pretty dialed in, so I tend to believe it. But you're right...we don't know for sure.

 

[Spin]

And now Aiyuk isn’t trending on Twitter, and the latest report is there’s no trade in place.

1.5 pages of posts about an unconfirmed nothingburger.

Tomlin’s response was literally a non-answer, but somehow that’s meaningful?

Cmon guys. We’re supposed to be better than this.

It’s Schrödinger’s Trade at this point. Aiyuk has both been traded and not traded at the same time. We’ll never know until we can open the box.

 

[massraider]

It's questionable to begin with that Aiyuk is an upgrade over Cooper.

This is the second time I saw something like this posted in this thread. To me, Aiyuk is clearly better, and I'm surprised that is not a unanimous perspective.

I also think there's a real debate between Aiyuk and Cooper.

Aiyuk had slightly better stats this year. Cooper missed 1 more game than Aiyuk. He's on a worse offense. He has less play makers around him. He had bad quarterback play. People remember Flacco. But 40% of the team's passes were thrown by Dorian Walker, Jeff Driskel, and Dorian Thomson Robinson.

Cooper was statistically better than Aiyuk in 2022. Cooper has done it across multiple teams: Oakland, Dallas, Cleveland.

Cooper is the #1 WR. And after the Chubb injury, he didn't have a lot of talent on offense to shift the focus off of him.

Aiyuk has a team full of playmakers with Deebo, CMC, Kittle drawing the defense's attention. Aiyuk has Purdy who has been one of the most efficient QB's in the NFL during his tenure. He has Shannahan who is an offensive genius.

I think if we take away the amazing offense, the brilliant coach, the hyper efficient QB, Aiyuk may not be as good.
I know Cooper can do it without those things.

Cooper is 4 years older, with a hall of fame injury history.

 

[jm192]

As a Steelers fan, I really don't love it. Feels like paying twice. And with no real answer still at QB, I dunno... I guess it'll make games more fun to watch but I don't see it somehow making us a SB competitor unless Russ reverses time or Fields makes leaps and bounds of improvement. And regardless, neither feel like the QB for the future which we'd be tying up a lot of capital in for a WR.

Also, pure speculation, but Pickens mentals have never struck me as great. I get a feeling similar to Meno, I don't think it will be long before Pickens is making waves off the field. If not just outright giving up on routes and not making blocks on the field, like he's already shown before.

As a fantasy player with super high Deebo and Ricky Pearsall ownership, I'm not sad to see Aiyuk leave the niners though.

Wonder how much of the pursuit of Aiyuk is tied into not trusting Pickens.

Don't think too much. Pitt could really use another receiving option.

Totally agree they need another option but I don’t see Pickens as someone you can really trust or as someone you want to give big $ to…if you did I don’t think you would have to give up assets and give out a monster contract to Aiyuk…and if they do obtain Aiyuk I don’t picture Pickens signing a second contract with the Steelers,

Comparing the two:

Aiyuk's 2nd season: 58 catches, 826 yards, 5 TD's
Picken's 2nd season: 63 catches, 1143 yards, 5 TD's

Aiyuk had a better season last year. But considering where Picken's was career wise and the difference in offense/QB play, I don't think Pickens is doing badly at all.

I think there's a clear case to be made for 2nd year Pickens deserves more trust than 2nd year Aiyuk got.

 

[efactor]

IMHO, Aiyuk benefits tremendously from the unique supporting cast he shared the field with.

I think if he goes elsewhere and is tried as the focal point of an offense, that a defense is able to prioritize due to less talented compliments players, he will be exposed as very good vs elite.

I've always felt Aiyuk in a vacuum is the kind of #1 that needs to be in a 1a/1b dynamic to thrive.
He
Think Darrell Jackson / Koren Robinson from vintage Seahawks days.

IMHO, of course.

This is where I am. Its not that he CAN'T be a true #1 WR. Just Haven't seen him do it, considering his circumstances yet. He has 1k yards in half of his seasons, and its arguable his YPC last year was a true outlier, as his career YPC even with last year is still 3+ yards below last year's 17.8. I think he can be a very good WR, but not sure he has that elite/top 10 in him to succeed regardless of the circumstances (read: He probably isn't getting 1300 yards in New England).

Truly a tough situation for both he and the team, although I believe the team (SF) should cave and just pay him to keep continuity.

He also plays on a team that had the lowest number of pass attempts in 2023 and is consistently in the bottom 5. To say he has hit 1000 yards in HALF his seasons is deceiving. His yardage total has gone up every year. He's really good and IMO, would be a top 5ish WR in a heavy passing offense.

Like I said, its a tough situation to truly find out the truth. My argument basically is "If you are elite, you are so good you demand the ball to be thrown your way" The year Deebo went off was truly an outlier, but it also begs a a couple questions "Is Deebo actually better than BA" and if not then "Why was the inferior WR fed the ball so much where he outperformed BA by almost 600 yards?"

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle - him being a very good, yet not quite elite WR, therefore he should get a very good, yet not quite elite contract.

Well, Deebo's career year was very similar to Aiyuks 2023 season from a receiving standpoint. Amazing efficiency with over 18 yards per catch. The rushing yards is what made the season spectacular from a FF standpoint.

In 2021 (Deebo"s big season), Garoppolo was the QB and a big check down guy, which is where Deebo thrived. That was also the season that Aiyuk was in Shanahans "doghouse" so that contributed as well.

They are different types of receivers obviously. Aiyuk is a better downfield receiver than Deebo. Not much to debate there. SF has a lot of playmakers and typically nobody gets a huge piece of the pie, so hard to say anyone "demands" the ball is thrown their way in that offense. Everyone blocks and no room for WR diva's there.

Hopefully they work it out, but we shall see






1

 

[Boston]

As a Steelers fan, I really don't love it. Feels like paying twice. And with no real answer still at QB, I dunno... I guess it'll make games more fun to watch but I don't see it somehow making us a SB competitor unless Russ reverses time or Fields makes leaps and bounds of improvement. And regardless, neither feel like the QB for the future which we'd be tying up a lot of capital in for a WR.

Also, pure speculation, but Pickens mentals have never struck me as great. I get a feeling similar to Meno, I don't think it will be long before Pickens is making waves off the field. If not just outright giving up on routes and not making blocks on the field, like he's already shown before.

As a fantasy player with super high Deebo and Ricky Pearsall ownership, I'm not sad to see Aiyuk leave the niners though.

Wonder how much of the pursuit of Aiyuk is tied into not trusting Pickens.

Don't think too much. Pitt could really use another receiving option.

Totally agree they need another option but I don’t see Pickens as someone you can really trust or as someone you want to give big $ to…if you did I don’t think you would have to give up assets and give out a monster contract to Aiyuk…and if they do obtain Aiyuk I don’t picture Pickens signing a second contract with the Steelers,

Comparing the two:

Aiyuk's 2nd season: 58 catches, 826 yards, 5 TD's
Picken's 2nd season: 63 catches, 1143 yards, 5 TD's

Aiyuk had a better season last year. But considering where Picken's was career wise and the difference in offense/QB play, I don't think Pickens is doing badly at all.

Not a question of talent with Pickens…the kid can play.

 

[Wingnut]

Per Jordan Schultz

Sources: There is still no deal between the #49ers and #Steelers on a trade that would send WR Brandon Aiyuk to Pittsburgh, per multiple sources. The two sides have spoken, they continue to speak, and the situation remains very fluid.

But as of this post, there is no agreement on all sides.

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[Joe Bryant]

Cmon guys. We’re supposed to be better than this.

This is a thread talking Aiyuk. When a Pittsburgh radio guy with 100k followers posts something, people will discuss. Some of that dicussion may be he's been wrong a ton in the past. That's helpful too. Some discussion might be Tomlin smirking at the presser.

It's pretty lighthearted discussion. Not sure what we're supposed to be "better than" or who you're criticizing but that's kind of how high profile player trade talk goes on a forum in this day of social media.

 

[Bri]

I passed on him and he fell to me the next round in both active drafts I'm in.
I guess that means 24 of us are starting to notice he's going to have little time to learn a new offense

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

It's pretty lighthearted discussion. Not sure what we're supposed to be "better than" or who you're criticizing but that's kind of how high profile player trade talk goes on a forum in this day of social media.

Knee jerk reactions to unsourced claims?

I’m not really criticizing anyone in particular. Why so defensive?

My point is that we should all be better in “this day of social media” - I’ve long made this point, that far too many cycles are spent spinning about unsourced stuff in a race to be 1st, accuracy be damned.

It’s a pet peeve.

 

[menobrown]

Per Jordan Schultz

Sources: There is still no deal between the #49ers and #Steelers on a trade that would send WR Brandon Aiyuk to Pittsburgh, per multiple sources. The two sides have spoken, they continue to speak, and the situation remains very fluid.

But as of this post, there is no agreement on all sides.

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As a side note I've been following that guy on twitter for about 2 years and only found out about a month or so ago he was the Starbucks founder's son. Everyone else know that but me?

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Per Jordan Schultz

Sources: There is still no deal between the #49ers and #Steelers on a trade that would send WR Brandon Aiyuk to Pittsburgh, per multiple sources. The two sides have spoken, they continue to speak, and the situation remains very fluid.

But as of this post, there is no agreement on all sides.

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As a side note I've been following that guy on twitter for about 2 years and only found out about a month or so ago he was the Starbucks founder's son. Everyone else know that but me?

I was one minute ago years old when I learned this.

 

[TheWinz]

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports the Steelers are “still” in talks with the 49ers about a trade for WR Brandon Aiyuk.
“No deal is done,” Russini said, citing sources familiar with the ongoing trade negotiations. The Aiyuk contact squabble and potential trade out of San Francisco has stretched on for weeks. ESPN reported Tuesday that Aiyuk did not want to be traded to the Patriots, who were willing to pay him more than $30 million per year.

 

[TheWinz]

The above was just posted to Rotoworld (at least that's what I still call it)

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

OMG the subscriber contest is open?!

Shut it down. Nothing else matters.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

The above was just posted to Rotoworld (at least that's what I still call it)

I still call it that, too,

 

[TheWinz]

OMG the subscriber contest is open?!

Shut it down. Nothing else matters.

Dude, it's been open for like a week!

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

OMG the subscriber contest is open?!

Shut it down. Nothing else matters.

Dude, it's been open for like a week!

What?!

I literally just got the email.

 

[massraider]

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports the Steelers are “still” in talks with the 49ers about a trade for WR Brandon Aiyuk.
“No deal is done,” Russini said, citing sources familiar with the ongoing trade negotiations. The Aiyuk contact squabble and potential trade out of San Francisco has stretched on for weeks. ESPN reported Tuesday that Aiyuk did not want to be traded to the Patriots, who were willing to pay him more than $30 million per year.

Journos have to go back online to report no news whenever some rando tries to break news. They must be annoyed by it.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Journos have to go back online to report no news whenever some rando tries to break news. They must be annoyed by it.

Nah, the reporting of “No news” generates just as many clicks as the reporting of “might be news”.

Then when there finally is news, yay, more clicks.

The curse of news in the social media era.

 

[Wingnut]

I really don't get why they'd trade him now. They could make him play on his 5th year at $14mil (or sit out, which I doubt he would), then tag and trade him before the draft next offseason.

Mind boggling.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I really don't get why they'd trade him now. They could make him play on his 5th year at $14mil (or sit out, which I doubt he would), then tag and trade him before the draft next offseason.

Mind boggling.

I’ve been saying this.

I also opined that they might be going through the motions here to say, “see Brandon, we tried. You can play under the tag & walk, or you can take $28M a year.”

They already went above and beyond when they had no real obligation to do so.

 

[massraider]

I really don't get why they'd trade him now. They could make him play on his 5th year at $14mil (or sit out, which I doubt he would), then tag and trade him before the draft next offseason.

Mind boggling.

Because this is the way it plays out now.

If players are unhappy, they get moved.

The 49ers don't want this hanging around for the next 12 months.

 

[menobrown]

I really don't get why they'd trade him now. They could make him play on his 5th year at $14mil (or sit out, which I doubt he would), then tag and trade him before the draft next offseason.

Mind boggling.

I think it's only reasonable to assume SF misread his mood and underestimated how volatile he'd try and make things. Like many here I viewed Aiyuk has having little to no leverage, but while I personally dislike the way he's handled things this off-season but hate to say he did in fact get leverage and seems to have created options for himself.

 

[jm192]

It's questionable to begin with that Aiyuk is an upgrade over Cooper.

This is the second time I saw something like this posted in this thread. To me, Aiyuk is clearly better, and I'm surprised that is not a unanimous perspective.

I also think there's a real debate between Aiyuk and Cooper.

Aiyuk had slightly better stats this year. Cooper missed 1 more game than Aiyuk. He's on a worse offense. He has less play makers around him. He had bad quarterback play. People remember Flacco. But 40% of the team's passes were thrown by Dorian Walker, Jeff Driskel, and Dorian Thomson Robinson.

Cooper was statistically better than Aiyuk in 2022. Cooper has done it across multiple teams: Oakland, Dallas, Cleveland.

Cooper is the #1 WR. And after the Chubb injury, he didn't have a lot of talent on offense to shift the focus off of him.

Aiyuk has a team full of playmakers with Deebo, CMC, Kittle drawing the defense's attention. Aiyuk has Purdy who has been one of the most efficient QB's in the NFL during his tenure. He has Shannahan who is an offensive genius.

I think if we take away the amazing offense, the brilliant coach, the hyper efficient QB, Aiyuk may not be as good.
I know Cooper can do it without those things.

Cooper is 4 years older, with a hall of fame injury history.

Cooper is undoubtedly older. I guess if the sole purpose is to get younger, then it works. I'm not sure in 2024/2025, they're getting better receiver play. And it's going to cost them more $$.

As far as injuries:

Over the last 4 years, Cooper has missed 4 games.
Over the last 4 years, Aiyuk has missed 5 games.

Regardless of all of the above, I'm not sure Aiyuk is an upgrade over Cooper. It's certainly not a massive upgrade. I don't think the Browns are a significantly better team giving up Cooper and more to get Aiyuk.

 

[Lansdowne]

I really don't get why they'd trade him now. They could make him play on his 5th year at $14mil (or sit out, which I doubt he would), then tag and trade him before the draft next offseason.

Mind boggling.

Because this is the way it plays out now.

If players are unhappy, they get moved.

The 49ers don't want this hanging around for the next 12 months.

It also doesn't help matters that Trent Williams is holding out trying to get his bag as well. The 49ers have a lot to think about as far as how their team is going to look going forward.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I really don't get why they'd trade him now. They could make him play on his 5th year at $14mil (or sit out, which I doubt he would), then tag and trade him before the draft next offseason.

Mind boggling.

I think it's only reasonable to assume SF misread his mood and underestimated how volatile he'd try and make things. Like many here I viewed Aiyuk has having little to no leverage, but while I personally dislike the way he's handled things this off-season but hate to say he did in fact get leverage and seems to have created options for himself.

Well, hard to believe they misread his mood when he immediately started sending out disgruntled social media posts within a day of the SB.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

I really don't get why they'd trade him now. They could make him play on his 5th year at $14mil (or sit out, which I doubt he would), then tag and trade him before the draft next offseason.

Mind boggling.

Because this is the way it plays out now.

If players are unhappy, they get moved.

The 49ers don't want this hanging around for the next 12 months.

It also doesn't help matters that Trent Williams is holding out trying to get his bag as well. The 49ers have a lot to think about as far as how their team is going to look going forward.

And they just paid CMC when he made the slightest chirp about being unhappy without guaranteed $. So there's that.

 

[3C's]

He has a point

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[Joe Bryant]

It's pretty lighthearted discussion. Not sure what we're supposed to be "better than" or who you're criticizing but that's kind of how high profile player trade talk goes on a forum in this day of social media.

Knee jerk reactions to unsourced claims?

I’m not really criticizing anyone in particular. Why so defensive?

My point is that we should all be better in “this day of social media” - I’ve long made this point, that far too many cycles are spent spinning about unsourced stuff in a race to be 1st, accuracy be damned.

It’s a pet peeve.

We're having what I think is a good discussion with a lot of knowledgeable fantasy football GMs pulling up info and talking about it. Having lots of eyes on something makes for way better discussion than one person searching alone.

I put a lot of value in that kind of discussion and this forum. So in the midst of a good thread, the "Cmon guys. We’re supposed to be better than this." seemed odd.

 

[Joe Bryant]

A good summary of where we are as of Wednesday afternoon. No deal as of now.

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Video is fun with Aiyuk's agent in background.

 

[Gold Fox]

There is no deal until there is a deal.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

He has a point

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Ok that’s classic. Approved breaking news.

 

[JoeJoe88]

There is no deal until there is a deal.

I was wondering how that worked.

 

[Joe Bryant]

He has a point

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That's so good.

 

[Lansdowne]

I really don't get why they'd trade him now. They could make him play on his 5th year at $14mil (or sit out, which I doubt he would), then tag and trade him before the draft next offseason.

Mind boggling.

I think it's only reasonable to assume SF misread his mood and underestimated how volatile he'd try and make things. Like many here I viewed Aiyuk has having little to no leverage, but while I personally dislike the way he's handled things this off-season but hate to say he did in fact get leverage and seems to have created options for himself.

Well, hard to believe they misread his mood when he immediately started sending out disgruntled social media posts within a day of the SB.

Yup. Here's the Aiyuk timeline:

Brandon Aiyuk timeline: A look at how saga between 49ers and disgruntled star receiver unfolded

It's reached the point where Aiyuk is reportedly set to get traded out of San Fran

www.cbssports.com

 

[Tau837]

It's questionable to begin with that Aiyuk is an upgrade over Cooper.

This is the second time I saw something like this posted in this thread. To me, Aiyuk is clearly better, and I'm surprised that is not a unanimous perspective.

I also think there's a real debate between Aiyuk and Cooper.

Aiyuk had slightly better stats this year. Cooper missed 1 more game than Aiyuk. He's on a worse offense. He has less play makers around him. He had bad quarterback play. People remember Flacco. But 40% of the team's passes were thrown by Dorian Walker, Jeff Driskel, and Dorian Thomson Robinson.

Cooper was statistically better than Aiyuk in 2022. Cooper has done it across multiple teams: Oakland, Dallas, Cleveland.

Cooper is the #1 WR. And after the Chubb injury, he didn't have a lot of talent on offense to shift the focus off of him.

Aiyuk has a team full of playmakers with Deebo, CMC, Kittle drawing the defense's attention. Aiyuk has Purdy who has been one of the most efficient QB's in the NFL during his tenure. He has Shannahan who is an offensive genius.

I think if we take away the amazing offense, the brilliant coach, the hyper efficient QB, Aiyuk may not be as good.
I know Cooper can do it without those things.

But we are talking about 2024. Cooper's history is great... but it's history. He is 30. Aiyuk is 26. That matters tremendously.

Let's say Aiyuk goes to Pittsburgh. He swaps Purdy for Wilson/Fields. He swaps Shanahan for Arthur Smith. He swaps his 49ers teammates on offense for Steelers teammates. All 3 of those things are clear downgrades. Yet, IMO he will be better than Cooper in 2024 in that situation.

Just an opinion. Will be interesting to see it play out.

 

[massraider]

Chad Johnson had a good point.

SF knew before this week they didn't want to pay him. Or they can't. Could have handled this sooner.

 

[jm192]

It's questionable to begin with that Aiyuk is an upgrade over Cooper.

This is the second time I saw something like this posted in this thread. To me, Aiyuk is clearly better, and I'm surprised that is not a unanimous perspective.

I also think there's a real debate between Aiyuk and Cooper.

Aiyuk had slightly better stats this year. Cooper missed 1 more game than Aiyuk. He's on a worse offense. He has less play makers around him. He had bad quarterback play. People remember Flacco. But 40% of the team's passes were thrown by Dorian Walker, Jeff Driskel, and Dorian Thomson Robinson.

Cooper was statistically better than Aiyuk in 2022. Cooper has done it across multiple teams: Oakland, Dallas, Cleveland.

Cooper is the #1 WR. And after the Chubb injury, he didn't have a lot of talent on offense to shift the focus off of him.

Aiyuk has a team full of playmakers with Deebo, CMC, Kittle drawing the defense's attention. Aiyuk has Purdy who has been one of the most efficient QB's in the NFL during his tenure. He has Shannahan who is an offensive genius.

I think if we take away the amazing offense, the brilliant coach, the hyper efficient QB, Aiyuk may not be as good.
I know Cooper can do it without those things.

But we are talking about 2024. Cooper's history is great... but it's history. He is 30. Aiyuk is 26. That matters tremendously.

Let's say Aiyuk goes to Pittsburgh. He swaps Purdy for Wilson/Fields. He swaps Shanahan for Arthur Smith. He swaps his 49ers teammates on offense for Steelers teammates. All 3 of those things are clear downgrades. Yet, IMO he will be better than Cooper in 2024 in that situation.

Just an opinion. Will be interesting to see it play out.

The age matters long term. But in 2024, I don't think it's an issue. I think Cooper is every bit the player that Aiyuk is. Cooper has done it in a bad offense as recently as last season. Aiyuk has never done it in a bad offense.

If the discussion is: "Do the Browns get better swapping receivers?" In the short term, no. They do not.
If the discussion is "Which of these guys is still producing in 3 years?" It's probably Aiyuk.

But for 2024 and I think 2025--Cooper is going to give them the production they would get out of Aiyuk. And he's going to cost them less money. That matters tremendously.

 

[Hot Sauce Guy]

Chad Johnson had a good point.

SF knew before this week they didn't want to pay him. Or they can't. Could have handled this sooner.

I disagree.

They did want to pay him. They tried to pay him.

And from what I’ve been hearing/reading, Aiyuk’s team told them what he wanted, and that’s what the 49ers offered, and he rejected it because ARSB got paid and Aiyuk’s team moved the goalposts.

That’s not at all the same as “they knew they didn’t want to pay him”.

That’s more like Aiyuk negotiating in bad faith.