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Brandon Aiyuk looked so smooth, so comfortable, so much like a play-making wide receiver worthy of a first-round draft pick.
Aiyuk glided down the left sideline, got a step past cornerback Jason Verrett, and didn’t break stride making an over-the-shoulder catch on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Garoppolo.
At about the same time Sunday, in the 49ers’ second practice of training camp, a completely opposite scene unfolded. Jalen Hurd went down while working on the side with a trainer, reigniting concerns about Hurd’s health after a back fracture cost him his rookie season.
Four weeks remain until the 49ers’ scheduled opener, and they need their wide receivers to step up fast this camp, especially Aiyuk.
“He’s a quick learner,” Arizona State coach Herm Edwards told me recently about the former Sun Devils star.
“They will build in packages for him until he learns the system,” Edwards said. “And it’s a difficult system. It’s a lot of verbiage. In his first year, he’ll be put in spots to use his talents.”
As eager as everyone is to see the comebacks of Hurd and slot specialist Trent Taylor, Aiyuk got drafted as the ideal wingman to Deebo Samuel, who the 49ers hope can return from foot surgery in time for the season.
After Aiyuk’s 50-yard, graceful snag in 7-on-7 drills, he made two more catches on Garoppolo passes over the middle, with so much ease.
Expectations certainly get inflated by optimistic signs early in training camp, and Aiyuk’s start qualifies.
“He made a catch at McQueen (High-Reno) on the far north end zone, very similar to OBJ, one handed catch, dragged his foot,” said Jim Snelling, Aiyuk’s former copach at McQueen High-Reno. “The official waved him out of bounds, but local news channel recorders showed still-footage of the catch and it was a good catch.”
Aiyuk, upon being drafted 25th overall, compared his playing style to Beckham, the Cleveland Browns star whom the 49ers unsuccessfully tried trading for in past years.
Coach Kyle Shanahan, on draft day, instead promoted Aiyuk’s versatility as a way to best replace Emmanuel Sanders, last season’s trade-deadline savior. He isn’t being thrust into a first-string role, at least not yet, as veterans Kendrick Bourne and Dante Pettis are lining up there, for now.
Aiyuk has yet not been available for comment at camp. After his impressive practice debut Saturday, Shanahan praised his attention to detail and pro-ready stature.
“He’s not a guy you’ve had to teach how to act or teach how important it is to learn this stuff,” Shanahan said. “You can tell he’s been working and that’s why he’s further ahead, I think, than a lot of rookies would be at this time.”
Taylor concurred, complimenting Aiyuk and fellow rookie Jauan Jennings for their intelligence and play-making ability. “From what we’ve seen so far, he’s picking everything up really well and could end up being a great piece for us,” Taylor said.
Taylor, by the way, marveled at Jennings’ work in Sunday’s one-on-one drills: “Great plays, he ran some filthy routes out there and it shocked all of us the type of route-running ability he has.”
Excelling as a rookie is a tough chore that Samuel pulled off last season, and while Aiyuk and Jennings might do the same, Taylor’s comeback bears watching. He underwent foot surgery last August, then needed four follow-up procedures to cure an infection he’s understandably bitter about since it cost him a Super Bowl run.
Not medically cleared to even attend games last season, Taylor recalled stewing in his 800-square-foot apartment, yearning to come back and show why he can be so clutch, as he was in Jimmy Garoppolo’s December 2017 debut. “I’m still Jimmy’s favorite target by far, no matter what George (Kittle) tells anyone else,” Taylor said.
On Sunday, however, it was Aiyuk who was Garoppolo’s No. 1 target, and the 49ers are banking on more days like that.
NOTES
— The 49ers had no update on Hurd after practice. For the second straight day, he took part in the first half of practice before retreating to do individual conditioning with a trainer.
— Offensive lineman Spencer Long is retiring. He was signed last week and served as Saturday’s second-string center. Top remaining candidates at right guard and center are Ben Garland, Daniel Brunskill, Tom Compton, Ross Reynolds and Colton McKivitz while Weston Richburg recovers from knee surgery.
— Running back Jerick McKinnon said his comeback is going “so, so good. It’s been a long time coming.” He missed the past two seasons with a right knee injury, and he’s looked sharp through two practices, and Sunday he showed off his speciality in catching passes out of the backfield.
McKinnon, who arrived in 2018 on a $30 million contract, agreed to reduce his base salary to $910,000 this season. Why? “It wasn’t a big deal to me. It was proving why I belong here, getting back on the field and showcasing my talents,” McKinnon said.
— Monday marks the 49ers’ first, full-contact practice in pads. “That’s the main point of the game, putting pads on. That’s when you can show what you can do,” linebacker Kwon Alexander said.
— After Nick Bosa lost his footing in a one-on-one drill with left tackle Trent Williams, Bosa roared back in the team drills and repeatedly pressured quarterbacks, often meeting fellow defensive end Dee Ford in the backfield.
— Top draft pick Javon Kinlaw went toe-to-toe in the power department with guard Laken Tomlinson, who held his own quite well. Nose tackle D.J. Jones called Kinlaw “strong as an ox,” and McKinnon echoed Bosa’s earlier statement by describing Kinlaw as one of the biggest humans he’s seen.
— Kinlaw and Solomon Thomas are benefitting from more reps with Arik Armstead sidelined a second straight day by back tightness.
— Safety Marcell Harris intercepted one of Garoppolo’s overthrows Sunday, the defense’s only interception through two days of practice.
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Author: Cam Inman