Sourdough Sam
Well-known member
- Mar 20, 2019
- 1,637
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"The 49ers only made five selections, but the two first-rounders sure look like keepers. Let's start with Brandon Aiyuk, who doesn't always get the national adulation he deserves. In a loaded rookie receiver class that featured record-setter Justin Jefferson and four other guys who eclipsed 800 receiving yards (CeeDee Lamb, Tee Higgins, Chase Claypool and Jerry Jeudy), Aiyuk feels like something of a forgotten man. Not to the good folks over at Pro Football Focus, who ranked him as the eighth-best rookie in the entire draft class, but to the football-watching public at large. Maybe this socially distanced existence has me creating straw men from an isolation chamber, but it just doesn't feel like Aiyuk gets the hype of some of his higher-profile WR classmates -- and I'm here to fix that! Like Deebo Samuel, Aiyuk is a perfect fit for Kyle Shanahan's catch-and-run scheme. Remember the hurdle touchdown against Philadelphia? Dude's electric with the ball in his hands. Put some respect on the name! Oh, and stop disrespecting Javon Kinlaw. Yes, he was essentially taken with the first-round pick San Francisco acquired in the DeForest Buckner trade. No, he didn't come close to matching Buckner's production this past season. This is OK. Kinlaw still has work to do in the technical aspects of his game, but he flashed disruptive ability on a weekly basis, routinely detonating O-lines with brute strength and rare athleticism. And shoot, look at the big man delivering a pick-six! Patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to 6-foot-5, 319-pound freaks."
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