Heading into the contest, Brandon Aiyuk had played one game in the last month and the thought was that he’d have fresh legs against the Bills. Nick Mullens targeted him nine times and Aiyuk finished with five catches for 95 yards, including a rare — for the 49ers — deep ball down the sideline for 49 yards.
How rare was it? According to the NFL’s NextGen stats, the ball traveled 54.1 yards in the air. That ranks in the middle of the pack among NFL long balls but is the longest completed throw in terms of air yards by a 49ers quarterback this season. Jimmy Garoppolo had a completion that traveled 43.1 yards earlier this season. Garoppolo had one of 57.2 yards — to Emmanuel Sanders against the Saints — last season.
Aiyuk also drew a pass-interference penalty on a deep ball on the 49ers’ opening drive that flipped the field position and indirectly led to the 49ers’ first score — a 2-yard pass to Aiyuk. Reports said Aiyuk is more of a pure receivers vs. Deebo Samuel who is also used a lot in sweeps and gadget plays. Aiyuk could be worth a grab if he's still on your wire.
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