49ers notebook: Aiyuk could break rookie record; Saleh offers scouting report on Rosen
One of All-Pro tight end George Kittle’s favorite moments since turning pro was getting tweeted at by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of Kittle’s many wrestling heroes, early in 2019 before the team’s run to the Super Bowl.
For quarterback Nick Mullens, his holy-cow moment might have been the phone call he received from Hall of Famer and fellow Southern Mississippi alum Brett Favre, after Mullens set the record for passer rating (151.9) in his first-ever start back in November of 2018.
Receiver Brandon Aiyuk would call those instances “soak-up” moments. They can be profound and remind players they’re living their dreams of playing in the NFL. Imagine suddenly being on the radar of someone you’ve looked up to for years. Many football players get to live that when they start to produce in the league, especially in the age of social media and direct messaging.
Aiyuk hasn’t quite had that moment yet where he’s been star struck by a celebrity or former player. Former Cowboys receiver, and current Baltimore Raven, Dez Bryant recently Tweeted he thought Aiyuk looked like Julio Jones’ little brother.
But that wasn’t the moment Aiyuk will take away from his rookie season, though he did acknowledge it as special. Instead, the moment Aiyuk will remember happened on the practice field recently with his position coach and a prominent teammate.
“I had a soak-up moment where I was just on the field, getting coached by Wes Welker, and then I went and did a one-on-one against Richard Sherman,” Aiyuk recalled Wednesday.
Welker, Aiyuk’s position coach with San Francisco, was named a first-time candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this fall, and Sherman could be a first-ballot inductee whenever he hangs up his cleats. Suffice to say, Aiyuk is surrounded by positive influences.
Which is playing out on the field during games. The quiet and often stoic rookie has a chance to break the 49ers’ rookie receiving record over the final two weeks of the regular season. It’s a mark held by another Hall of Famer, Jerry Rice.
Aiyuk needs 195 yards over the final two games to break Rice’s 927-yard mark from 1985, which would be impressive given Aiyuk has already missed three games and will have worked with three different starting quarterbacks when C.J Beathard takes the first snap Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals.
“The mindset is not worrying about that record,” Aiyuk said Wednesday. “The mindset is going out there and having a perfect game, which I haven’t yet, in terms of assignments and doing what I’m supposed to do. At the end of the season if I look up and that record is broken, that would be pretty exciting. But right now we still have two games left.”
Aiyuk over his last six games has 45 catches for 568 yards and four touchdowns. That 95-yard per game average would give him 1,515 yards over a full 16-game slate, and projecting his touchdowns would give him just under 11.
The Arizona State alum said this week he noticed the game starting to slow down for him since he returned from a stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list in November when he was forced to miss the win over the Rams Nov. 29. Since then, Aiyuk has averaged a team-leading eight catches per game.
“From the playbook and just being able to just go out there and just focus on maybe the defenses and coverages and who I’m playing against,” Aiyuk said on how the game is slowing down, “instead of having to worry about what my assignment is.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is known for being tough on his receivers, but appears to have hit on a receiver prospect for the second year in a row after taking Deebo Samuel near the top of Round 2 in 2019. Samuel last season finished second on San Francisco’s receiving list for first-year wideouts finishing with 802 receiving yards.
The 49ers hope Aiyuk can parlay a strong finish to his rookie season into a productive spring — and avoid injuries in 2021, which is something Samuel has struggled with during his second year in the league.
Saleh offers scouting report on Rosen
The 49ers on Wednesday made the signing for former No. 10 overall draft choice Josh Rosen official. Rosen participated in Wednesday’s practice and will likely be Beathard’s backup against Arizona now that Mullens is expected to have Tommy John surgery. Jimmy Garoppolo, meanwhile, returned to practice this week but isn’t expected to be activated for Saturday.
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh schemed against Rosen twice in 2018 when he was a member of the Arizona Cardinals. Rosen’s team has won just three of his 16 starts, but two came against San Francisco during his rookie season, though he wasn’t particularly efficient.
Rosen combined to complete 33 of 65 (51 percent) for 422 yards with three touchdown passes to one interception. What Saleh remembers most about Rosen stemmed from their second matchup, when Rosen orchestrated a game-winning touchdown drive inside the final two minutes.
“Obviously, he’s got a first-round talent arm,” Saleh said. “So, anytime you’ve got somebody with the arm talent that someone like Josh has, he’s always going to be dangerous in terms of being able to get hot and get in rhythm and get the ball where it needs to go.
“Unfortunately for the first game we played him, I thought we did really well. The second game, same thing. It was just that two-minute drive he got hot, and then it was over. That’s just one of those things when you’ve got a talent like him, when they get confident and they get hot in combination with the arm talent that they have, it’s always a worry.”
It would likely take a Beathard injury for Rosen to get in a game over the final two weeks. But the 49ers could give Rosen a chance at a roster spot in 2021 by giving him a contract after the season, depending on the impression he makes until then.
▪ Saleh said he’s kept in touch with injured defensive ends Nick Bosa and Dee Ford. Bosa remains away from the team living with his brother, Joey, in Southern California while he works back from his Week 2 ACL tear. Ford traveled with the team in Arizona and continues to work through his back injury that will keep him sidelined the rest of the way.
“Nick is in great spirits,” Saleh said. “He’s working his tail off trying to get through and get his strength back and all that stuff and he feels great. Then Dee, we see him, he’s here. So, we see him every day. He’s working through his stuff and not exactly sure where he is with regards to everything, but he’s in great spirits. Both of them are in great spirits and working through their ailments and trying to get better every day.”
▪ The 49ers on Wednesday re-signed receiver Jordan Matthews to the practice squad. It’s the second time since late November Matthews has been added. It was necessary this week because receiver Trent Taylor was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Practice squad members, tight end Chase Harrell and fullback Josh Hokit, were also placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday, giving the 49ers six players on the list in total: Taylor, Harrell, Hokit, offensive lineman Colton McKivitz, running back Austin Walter and tight end Charlie Woerner.
This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 3:42 PM.
