Report: NFL teams believe 49ers Aiyuk’s asking price was first-round pick originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, a lot of speculation surrounded the 49ers and what they planned to do with any of the your stellar receiversBrandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.
With the draft in sight, both Aiyuk and Samuel remain a member of the 49ers – but that doesn’t mean the calls weren’t made. And now, new information from ESPN Senior Reporter Jeremy Fowler came to light about what some of these trades between the 49ers and teams asking about receivers looked and sounded like.
Several teams told Fowler they had interest in Aiyuk but believed San Francisco wanted a first-round pick for him, adding that one team compared the situation to the AJ Brown deal that sent him from the Tennessee Titans to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the No. 0.18 overall pick in the 2022 draft.
The 49ers discussed Samuel with teams on Day 2 of the draft, Fowler reported, but a source told him two hours before the second round that San Francisco “is not moving him.”
Things got even darker after the 49ers drafted Ricky Pearsall in the first round with the No. 31 overall pick, a move that left unnamed NFL executives telling Fowler they were confused.
“He could be a good No. 2 or No. 3 receiver, a good player, but that was a little difficult, in my opinion,” an NFC personnel evaluator told Fowler.
“They wanted a route runner like the Rams have in Puka [Nacua],” added an AFC executive. “We will probably see him in the same role.”
Scouts were also skeptical about San Francisco’s Renardo Green Selectionwrote Fowler, who the 49ers drafted in the second round out of Florida State.
As of now, Aiyuk and Samuel are expected to return to the 49ers for the 2024 NFL season, and as general manager John Lynch said, he is doing everything in your power to keep it that way.
