May see role elevated early on Aiyuk is a candidate to fill in for injured starter, Deebo Samuel (foot), to begin the regular season, Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Impact Samuel was lined up to serve as the 49ers' top wide receiver following his stellar 2019 rookie campaign, but an offseason foot injury has put his status for Week 1 in jeopardy. With GM John Lynch stating that his top wideout could miss multiple games to begin the season, Aiyuk could be in line to replace his production out of the gate. The first-round pick out of Arizona State was high on coach Kyle Shanahan's draft board in this year's receiver-heavy draft, even drawing comparison to Hall of Fame wideout, Isaac Bruce, from his new head coach. Aiyuk was originally expected to compete for snaps behind Samuel and veteran Kendrick Bourne, but this new development could thrust the rookie into a prominent role from the get go. Just as we saw with Samuel in 2019, if Aiyuk is able to impress early on, the versatile wideout could grab a hold of a key role and force his way into the starting lineup for the remainder of the year.
JULY 31, 2020 • ROTOWIRE
