Is Brandon Aiyuk the 49ers' Most Underappreciated Player?

So many players on the 49ers are underappreciated.

They have arguably the best roster in the NFL, and yet the top five or six players get most of the attention. We're talking Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Trent Williams and Brock Purdy. Those are the stars.

CBS NFL Analyst Jeff Kerr believes Brandon AIiyuk should be in that group as well and named him the most underappreciated player on the roster.

"The 49ers have not given Aiyuk a contract extension yet, but this should have been taken care of months ago. Aiyuk proved in 2023 he's the best wide receiver on the 49ers after having the best season of his career.

"Aiyuk had 1,342 receiving yards last year (seventh in NFL) and joined Jerry Rice as the only players in franchise history with 7+ 100-yard receiving games in a season. He averaged 3.1 yards per route run in 2023, the third-best rate in the NFL behind Tyreek Hill and Nico Collins (minimum 400 routes). Aiyuk was second in the league in yards per catch (17.9) and led the NFL in percentage of catches going for a first down or touchdown (81.3%).

"Aiyuk is the first player in 49ers' history with 55+ catches, 740+ yards and 5+ touchdowns in each of his first four seasons. He's 11th in receiving yards (2,357), 16th in yards per catch (15.4) and tied for 11th in receiving touchdowns (15) over the last two seasons -- all while being the No. 2 wideout on a stacked 49ers roster.

"Playing under the fifth-year option on his rookie deal at $14.124 million, Aiyuk is worth significantly more than what he'll make this season. With the wide receiver market booming, Aiyuk deserves to get a hefty raise -- from the 49ers or someone else."

With all due respect to Aiyuk, Kerr is overselling him a bit. Yes, he's an excellent wide receiver. But he has had just one special season. His previous three seasons were good but not great. And now he's asking for roughly $30 million per season and if he doesn't get it this year, he'll get it next year. So it's hard to say he's underappreciated or undervalued.

To me, the most underappreciated player on the 49ers is Charvarius Ward. He's a top 5 cornerback in the NFL while Aiyuk isn't a top 5 wide receiver. And if those two were to match up in a game, Ward would win more often than Aiyuk.