Sports
Report: Potential 1st-Round Draft Pick Brandon Aiyuk Has Core-Muscle Surgery
Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesFormer Arizona State wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is considered a potential first-round pick in the NFL’s upcoming 2020 draft, underwent core-muscle surgery Tuesday, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.Garafolo noted that Aiyuk had been dealing with the injury for a few months and decided to have the surgery now with offseason team…
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Former Arizona State wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is considered a potential first-round pick in the NFL‘s upcoming 2020 draft, underwent core-muscle surgery Tuesday, per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
Garafolo noted that Aiyuk had been dealing with the injury for a few months and decided to have the surgery now with offseason team activities (and all other offseason programs) suspended because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The 6'1″ Aiyuk had 65 catches for 1,192 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games last season. He never dropped a pass of 20 yards or more, per Pro Football Focus.
As far as whether the surgery may affect Aiyuk's draft stock, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller tweeted that the news brings about no change in his rankings since the injury has been known “for a while.”
Aiyuk is currently 40th overall on Miller's big board and sixth among wideouts.
Miller has him going 66th overall to the Washington Redskins in his latest mock draft.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com gave Aiyuk a complimentary pro comparison to the talented Robert Woods of the Los Angeles Rams, who played a significant role in his team's explosive 2017 and 2018 offenses.
Zierlein wrote the following summary:
“Ascending receiving prospect who has shown continued improvement since coming from the JUCO ranks. Aiyuk has size, speed and is a natural pass-catcher who plays with good energy but he must improve physicality to handle contested catches. He can be slick and instinctive to separate out of stems and turns, but getting in and out of standard route breaks tends to limit his effectiveness. He needs more polish, but his ability to create yards after catch could get him some early reps while he's still developing. He has the potential to develop into a WR3.“
Aiyuk, who also returned kicks and punts, finished as a third-team Associated Press All-American and first-team All-Pac-12 member.
Wide receiver is particularly loaded in this year's draft, as evidenced by the fact that six reside in Miller's top 40.
But the demand for pass-catchers figures to be there as well. Draft Network broke down all 32 teams' needs predraft and listed 10 franchises with wide receiver as a “primary need.” Twenty teams had wide receiver as a secondary need as well.
In other words, Aiyuk shouldn't have to wait too long to hear his name called. If he doesn't go on day one, then he's a near-lock to go on day two.
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