There remains speculation that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk could join the Washington Commanders once his saga with the San Francisco 49ers ends. And with general manager John Lynch's first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, that scenario got a lot closer.
Aiyuk's relationship with the Niners has gone past the point of no return. Both sides are probably at fault, but it's beyond time everyone went their separate ways.
Jayden Daniels is a good friend, and they reportedly want to play together again after taking college football by storm at Arizona State. But for some reason, San Francisco is still holding out for a trade offer that won't arrive.
49ers draft pick could speed up Brandon Aiyuk's journey to Washington
The Commanders are staying patient, waiting for the moment they get to speak with Aiyuk. The player is remaining quiet, which is the smart move in the circumstances. Pieces are slowly forming, and San Francisco lost any slight leverage they may have had by selecting Ole Miss wideout De'Zhaun Stribling at No. 33 overall.
San Francisco traded out of the first round entirely. They got offers to move back from No. 33, but they resisted the urge. Stribling is 6-foot-2 with impressive speed and intriguing physical attributes. He's very similar to Aiyuk in terms of build, so the NFC West club has officially made him surplus to requirements.
That won't go unnoticed. Not by Aiyuk. Not by Daniels. And not by the Commanders.
It's still a waiting game. The Niners are under no obligation to do right by the player. It makes no financial sense to release him now. But they could easily give him a post-June 1 designation to remove this issue from the equation.
They now have Stribling, Mike Evans, Christian Kirk, and Ricky Pearsall. That's a decent quartet if everyone stays healthy. Aiyuk is on the outside looking in, and that's the way he wants it. Keeping him on the books now reeks of pettiness, so this pick could speed up the process.
In the best-case scenario, anyway.
The sooner Washington gets Aiyuk, the quicker he can get up to speed. San Francisco knows that, too, and they are not going to gift-wrap him to Adam Peters without a fight. This situation was a lost cause long ago. Drafting Stribling only cements the notion.
Washington will be ready when the time comes. When that'll be is anyone's guess right now, but Aiyuk and the Niners going their separate ways is a foregone conclusion.
And who knows, perhaps choosing Stribling will finally get Lynch to accept the inevitable.
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