The Facts: As Aiyuk embarks on his third season, the jury remains out on whether he’ll become what the 49ers expected him to be when they traded up in round one of the 2020 draft to get him. There’s reason for optimism that he’s ready to make a leap. Coach Kyle Shanahan explained to reporters on Saturday the things that Aiyuk has been doing to improve. “He’s developing in all the stuff he needed to do to get better,” Shanahan said. “He comes off the ball every play, he runs full speed every play, he’s not slow-playing stuff anymore. He’s not sitting there and fighting with guys with his hands. He’s doing it with his feet, with his hips, creating edges by running, breaking down. If you want to get open in this league, you have to be so violent on how you run and putting your knees into the ground and everything.”

Diehards Line: Aiyuk got off to a slow start at the beginning of the 2021 season after impressing his rookie year the season before. While it was reported he found his way into Shanahan's doghouse last summer, Deebo Samuel emerging as a high-end contributor clearly capped Aiyuk's ceiling. Still, there are reasons to suspect Aiyuk finally lives up to his first-round reputation entering 2022. Not the least of which, Jimmy Garoppolo's game is vastly different than that of Aiyuk's new quarterback, Trey Lance, who'll assume starting duties in 2022. Lance's second start of his career (Week 17 against the Texans) was one of Aiyuk's better games, one in which he posted four catches on six targets for 94 yards and averaged 23.5 yards per reception. Aiyuk might never catch Samuel as long as the two are rostered together. But if Lance is able to take advantage of Aiyuk's strengths more effectively this upcoming season, at least the 49ers would have their prolific one-two punch at the position.