2020 NFL Draft Prospect – Brandon Aiyuk, WR Arizona State

Our NFL rookie profile series continues with this analysis of 2020 NFL Draft Prospect Brandon Aiyuk, WR from Arizona State. We will continue to provide you with these in-depth rookie profiles and a ton of other fantasy football rookie analysis right up through the NFL Draft. Stay tuned, and stay ahead of your league!

For a former junior college player, Brandon Aiyuk’s NFL Draft stock heading into next week is sky-high. Many analysts anticipate that he will be drafted early on day two, if not earlier. He’s currently ranked as DLF’s rookie WR10, but many have him considerably higher than that.

Aiyuk was barely recruited out of McQueen High School (Reno, NV), ranked somewhere in the untold 4,000s among his football-playing peers. He ended up at Sierra College where he played well for the Wolverines for two years, earning Junior College All-America honors on his way to 2,499 all-purpose yards and 21 touchdowns.

That led to offers from schools such as Alabama, Kansas, Tennessee and Colorado State, but they all wanted him to change positions. He transferred to Arizona State instead, where he would spend the next two years pursuing his ambitions as a wideout.

Unfortunately, due to his rather unconventional route to the NFL, he does not have the conventional breakout age and early dominance numbers that might propel him even higher up the draft board. So where does Aiyuk fit into this year’s deep wide receiver class? Let’s dig into the details we need to confidently place him on our boards.

The Stats

Stats courtesy sports-reference.com.

Aiyuk’s 2018 season at ASU was solid, especially for a JUCO transfer. N’Keal Harry’s departure allowed Aiyuk to emerge as the Sun Devils’ clear number one receiver in 2019. Last year, with true freshman Jayden Daniels chucking him the rock, he showed why he is worthy of considerable attention and respect.

His 1,192 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 65 receptions were very good numbers, but his YAC is the stat everyone raves about. He’s lauded by ESPN’s Todd McShay as one of the top playmakers in space, averaging 10.5 yards after catch to go along with exceptional numbers in the kick and punt return game.

Stats courtesy sports-reference.com.

Like a dual-threat quarterback, a receiver who brings multiple skill sets to the table significantly increases his opportunities to make an immediate impact. Look for Aiyuk to get plenty of chances to prove himself on the field as soon as next year, which bodes well for his development as a dynasty asset.

One of the most-often heard criticisms of Aiyuk is that he had only had one year of solid production against meaningful competition. That’s certainly something to take into account as we prepare for rookie drafts. The learning curve will continue to be steep for Aiyuk as he makes the transition to the next level. If you have room on your roster for a developmental player, though, and if he drops into the mid-second round or later in your rookie drafts, he represents an investment that will likely pay dividends in both trade value and fantasy point production.

Brandon Aiyuk has never dropped a deep pass (20+ yards) in his career at Arizona State. pic.twitter.com/FPaIzTJU8f

— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 3, 2020

The Film

Aiyuk is widely regarded as a big-play threat and that potential can be seen on film. His draft stock has increased significantly since DLF’s Ray Garvin took a look at his film last October:

https://youtu.be/2EfQHWTq7RI

His after-the-catch prowess is celebrated everywhere. He is often criticized, though, for having a limited route tree and unrefined route running technique. That’s quite common among rookie NFL’ers and is something that will have to be coached.

So is he coachable? He has no reported off-field issues and is generally considered to be a hard-working teammate. The fact that he has consistently improved bears this out.

Plus, head coach Herm Edwards saw enough in him to predict success early on. “Herm, he saw something in me from the first day I got on campus,” Aiyuk said. “He used to tell the defense, ‘That guy is going to play in the NFL.’ I’m a junior college guy who has been at the university for one week, and I’ve got DBs telling me, ‘Herm said you were going to play in the NFL.’ That was huge for my confidence.”

The Measurables

At 6’0” and 205 pounds, and with a wingspan of 81 inches, Aiyuk has the frame and reach to be a dominant receiver.

His Combine performance, while not breaking any records, indicates a solid talent capable of being an NFL starter. While his 4.5-second 40-yard dash wasn’t especially fast, the film above shows that he plays faster.

Of particular note is the fact that he underwent core muscle surgery April 7th. The injury had been lingering for some time and almost certainly had a negative effect on his Combine performance.

Most feel that he made a wise decision in getting the surgery out of the way with football activities likely postponed at least until training camp. He should be healed by then, but the surgery may have a slight onward impact on his draft status.

Dynasty Value

Having turned 22 years of age on March 17, Aiyuk is one of the older incoming rookies at the wide receiver position. Given his start at junior college, and his first year as a transfer playing behind Harry, my feeling is that his age should be discounted at least a bit, i.e., not counted against him as he’s a youngish 22.

According to DLF’s Dynasty Rookie Rankings, Aiyuk currently sits as the WR10 (14th overall rookie). His current startup ADP is 120.83, and he’s being valued as the WR54, just behind Curtis Samuel.

Conclusion

As we recently noted in DLF’s Dynasty Player News, NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt has DJ Moore as Aiyuk’s pro comparison, emphasizing the rookie’s explosiveness, ability to separate and potential to be a WR1 for any given NFL team as traits he shares with the productive Panther. He also notes Aiyuk’s skill as a kick and punt returner, another area where Moore excels.

Those abilities lend credence to the notion that Aiyuk will have significant opportunities to see the field in his first year at the pro level. While Brandt’s comparison is perceived by some as setting unreasonably lofty expectations, it’s backed up by his own top-five rookie wideout rankings where he slots Aiyuk at fourth between Justin Jefferson and Henry Ruggs, and it’s further bolstered by his colleague’s comparison of Aiyuk to Robert Woods.

At this point, the consensus is that Aiyuk is a potential first-round pick in next week’s NFL Draft. It would be very surprising if he made it past day two.

More WR coaches I talk to, more I believe Aiyuk will go in the first. No holes in his game. Stud. https://t.co/csn69QrLUi

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) April 6, 2020

Dynasty team owners rostering Aiyuk will have to be patient as he develops, a fact true of most receivers with his potential. It’s likely that he sees the field as a rookie given his special teams talent, but a truly productive role in an NFL offense is, as with the majority of wide receivers that eventually hit, at least a couple of years out.