Brandon Aiyuk officially requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday, an unsurprising outcome given that the two sides have failed to negotiate a long-term extension.
Reports have suggested that the 49ers don’t intend to move Aiyuk, who’s scheduled to play this season on his $14.124 million fifth-year option.
However, what if San Francisco decides to budge? What sort of offer would the 49ers be looking for in exchange for Aiyuk?
Let’s run through four recent trades for star wide receivers in their contract years and see if any deal stands out as a potential comparison for an Aiyuk move.
Brandon Aiyuk Trade Comparables
Raiders Acquire Davante Adams From Packers (2022)
- Raiders acquired: WR Davante Adams
- Packers acquired: 2022 first-round pick (No. 22), 2022 second-round pick (No. 53)
While Davante Adams was technically in a contract year when the Green Bay Packers traded him to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022, he’d just been franchise-tagged. Given his status as a franchise icon, Adams also held more sway and was quickly granted a trade once he requested one.
Adams had just turned 29 when he was dealt, while Aiyuk is still only 26. However, Adams also had a much longer track record at the time of his trade. He was coming off back-to-back first-team All-Pro appearances and had just made his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl.
While Aiyuk was exceptional in 2023, his résumé isn’t nearly as long as Adams’ was. The 49ers might hold out for a package like this, but they’re unlikely to get a first- and a second-rounder back for Aiyuk.
Dolphins Acquire Tyreek Hill From Chiefs (2022)
- Dolphins acquired: WR Tyreek Hill
- Chiefs acquired: 2022 first-round pick (No. 29), 2022 second-round pick (No. 50), 2022 fourth-round pick (No. 121), 2023 fourth-round pick, 2023 sixth-round pick
If a package including first- and second-round selections is improbable, then hoping for the Tyreek Hill return is beyond absurd.
Based on the Over the Cap draft value chart, the Miami Dolphins gave up somewhere between the first and second overall pick for Hill. Like Adams, Hill also received a lengthy extension, making him one of the NFL’s highest-paid WRs.
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Hill has exploded since joining the Dolphins, but he was already elite with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Catching passes from Alex Smith and then Patrick Mahomes, Hill had topped 1,100 yards four times and posted two double-digit TD campaigns through six seasons in Kansas City before being shipped to Miami.
Eagles Acquire A.J. Brown From Titans (2022)
- Eagles acquired: WR A.J. Brown
- Titans acquired: 2022 first-round pick (No. 18), 2022 third-round pick (No. 101)
This feels closer to what the 49ers might expect from an Aiyuk trade.
A.J. Brown had better statistics through his first three NFL seasons than Aiyuk, even while playing in a less efficient offense with the Tennesee Titans.
However, Aiyuk has the benefit of an additional season of production on his ledger. He made the most of it, putting up a career-high 1,342 receiving yards while earning second-team All-Pro honors.
Brown was a year younger at the time of his trade than Aiyuk is now. He was also a former second-round pick with no fifth-year option. While that made Brown a contract-year WR like Aiyuk, his artificially depressed salary also made it easier for the Philadlephia Eagles to immediately extend him on a four-year, $100 million contract.
Rams Acquire Brandin Cooks From Patriots (2018)
- Rams acquired: WR Brandin Cooks
- Patriots acquired: 2018 first-round pick (No. 23), 2022 sixth-round pick (No. 198)
Brandin Cooks has been traded four times during his NFL career. We’re discussing the second deal of his pro tenure, which sent him from the New England Patriots to the Los Angeles Rams with one year (his fifth-year option) remaining on his contract.
Cooks and Aiyuk posted eerily similar production through their first four campaigns. Here’s how they stacked up, via Pro Football Reference:
If the 49ers are searching for a fair trade package for Aiyuk, this might be it. While Aiyuk and Cooks don’t have matching playstyles, they generated almost identical statistical lines over their first four NFL seasons.
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Sure, Aiyuk gets to work inside a Kyle Shanahan offense. But it’s not as if Cooks didn’t have help while catching passes from Drew Brees and Tom Brady to begin his NFL career.
From a production standpoint, the Cooks package could make sense as a comparable for Aiyuk.
