Before the Washington Commanders selected LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday, he walked the red carpet doing multiple interviews.
In one such interview, Daniels was asked who his dream NFL teammate would be. He didn’t hesitate to name 49ers star wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Why Aiyuk? Well, that’s easy. In 2019, Aiyuk, a senior, was teammates with Daniels — then a freshman quarterback. During that season, the two became close, and Aiyuk enjoyed a phenomenal season with 1,192 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
That performance led Aiyuk to become the San Francisco 49ers’ first-round pick in 2020. Aiyuk is entering his fifth NFL season, while Daniels begins his career.
The 2024 season is also Aiyuk’s last under his rookie deal. He can become a free agent in the offseason, which led to some trade chatter during the NFL draft.
If the 49ers can’t agree to a new deal with Aiyuk, would they consider trading him to Washington? After all, Commanders general manager Adam Peters spent the previous eight seasons in San Francisco’s front office.
Washington is in good shape at wide receiver with Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson, but they need another to step up. The Commanders drafted Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey in the third round of the draft.
Washington is unlikely to make a move for Aiyuk. For one, the 49ers want to keep him. Secondly, the Commanders would need to part with a premium pick for Aiyuk and then pay him a large contract.
Jayden should use his influence and go sit down with Adam Peters and Dan Quinn to pull the trigger on making this Brandon Aiyuk to Washington play
: @overtime pic.twitter.com/Kc4yBSkqKv
— Saint (@SaintWah) April 28, 2024