It's seemingly sensible to bank on Brandon Aiyuk landing with an Eagles rival

The beauty of being a Philadelphia Eagles fan is that we're all part of a family whose members come from different backgrounds, locations, and belief systems. We have our differences. Perhaps you went to Penn State but your 'brother' attended Temple or Villanova. Still. if we talk long enough, we'll learn we share similarities.

Raise your hand if you don't stay up late enough on Saturday nights to watch Pac-12 football. Yep, that's what we thought. Those games don't end until 2 am EST sometimes.

Brandon Aiyuk cut his teeth at Sierra College and Arizona State. That being said, we didn't see him play live very often, and most of what we knew about him came from watching highlights. Since he has turned pro, our knowledge of him has deepened.

Some of that comes from seeing him a few times as an opponent.

Oddsmakers name an Eagles rival as a possible landing spot for Brandon Aiyuk.

There's no guarantee of this statement's accuracy, but it appears the Philadelphia Eagles are content to ride into the coming regular season with its wide receiver corps as currently constructed. There's always the chance of a late addition. You never know with Howie Roseman, but Philly has a lot invested into its wide receiver position already.

A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith both recently signed extensions. The Birds drafted Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson. Parris Campbell was added by way of the free agency pool. That being said, despite any temptation (even if minimal) by Philly to inquire about Brandon Aiyuk, it seems sensible to believe Philly would pass if he was available.

Have you heard? NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported this week that the 49ers star has asked to be traded after unsuccessful contract negotiations.

So, if Aiyuk isn't headed to Philly, where might he wind up landing? One outlet believes they have a few ideas.

BETFTW! recently released its theory on five teams that should trade for Aiyuk without hesitation. They added another angle, adding the odds of that trade happening.

The Buffalo Bills top their list with odds of +500. The Pittsburgh Steelers are nipping at their heels with odds of +800. The fourth and fifth teams are the L.A. Chargers (+3500) and the New York Jets (+5000). Landing third is a team that Philly knows well.

What might Brandon Aiyuk look like in a Washington Commanders jersey? They have odds of +1200 to pursue a trade. Here's some of what Robert Zeglinski, the writer of this one, states as being his theory:

"The Commanders don’t necessarily need Aiyuk. However, when I peruse the Washington depth chart, I wouldn’t say it has a clear-cut top weapon. Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson are nice and solid, but they’re probably firmly in that second tier of receivers. If new general manager Adam Peters really wants to support rookie Jayden Daniels, getting him a safety valve like old college pal Aiyuk would be a clear home run. The chemistry between this duo is already established, and it would potentially make Washington one of the NFC’s more dangerous teams."

We disagree about McLaurin being a second-tier receiver. We have long prayed that he leave Washington so we'd never have to deal with him again. It's amazing what he has done during his career without ever having a great quarterback behind center to get him the ball. That's another story for another day. Here's our question.

Might Aiyuk's addition assist in Washington giving Philly more fits?

He hasn't played Philly very often, four times to be exact. The first three tussles didn't provide many highlights, other than him hurdling over Marcus Epps to score a TD in Week 4 of the 2020 season, but his most recent performance versus our Birds is etched in our memory.

During San Fran's blowout win over Philly in 2023, one where the Niners showed up in black for Philly's 'funeral', Aiyuk hauled in five passes for 46 yards. Every reception was excruciating including a nice diving TD grab he snagged in the back corner of the end zone.

The rest of his stat line versus the Eagles in three games (including the NFC Championship Game played on January 29, 2023) is as follows: eight targets, four receptions, 34 yards receiving, and the aforementioned 2020 TD.

That one was a lateral, so it is recorded as a 38-yard TD run.

Aiyuk's future is still uncertain at this point, but if he does move on from the Niners and land in a rival's locker room, Philly might be safe.

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