Brandon Aiyuk Madden Career 2021-2026 - Peak 91 OVR

Brandon Aiyuk was a first-round pick out of Arizona State in 2020, 25th overall, and for a while he looked like the receiver the 49ers offense would be built around. He broke out in 2023 with more than 1,300 receiving yards and a second-team All-Pro nod, a smooth, physical route-runner who could win at every level of the field.

Madden's grade tracked that ascent cleanly. Aiyuk climbed from a 72 as a rookie through the high 70s and 80s to a peak of 91 off his big 2023 season, his speed rating pinned at 91 throughout, the number of a genuine number-one receiver. Then the story turned.

A contract standoff in the summer of 2024 ended with a large extension, but the good feeling did not last: Aiyuk tore knee ligaments midway through that season, missed the rest of it, and did not play at all in 2025 as the recovery dragged and the relationship with the team frayed. By late 2025 his guarantees had been voided and reports suggested he had played his last snap for San Francisco, a swift and sad turn for a player who had been on the cusp of stardom.

Madden's grade caught him at his high point, a 91 for the season he broke out, before the injury and the business intervened. Whether the number ever climbs again, and in whose uniform, is one of the open questions on the current roster. The talent was never in doubt; the timing was cruel.