0:00

The 49ers might be on their summer break,

0:02

but that doesn't mean all things are quiet

0:05

at team headquarters in Santa Clara. Wide

0:07

receiver Brandon Iuk, who is still not

0:09

agreed to an extension with the club,

0:11

arranged an impromptu meeting to potentially try

0:13

to get negotiations headed back in the

0:15

right direction. We have

0:17

more exclusive interviews from Tydon University,

0:19

including a former NFL quarterback, a

0:22

49ers rival quarterback, and NFL analyst

0:24

and former Tydon, Greg Olson. All

0:27

that and much more on this episode

0:29

of 49ers Talk coming at you right

0:31

now. Welcome to another

0:33

edition of 49ers Talk on

0:36

NBC Sports Bay area.com. Introducing

0:38

your host, Matt Mayoko.

0:41

Hello, this is 49ers Talk brought to

0:43

you by Big O Tires. I am

0:45

in Nashville and we are solo again.

0:48

I don't know why I said we,

0:50

I am solo again, as Matt Mayoko

0:52

is still on vacation, but we were

0:54

just here a week ago. I'm back

0:56

for a little kind of

0:58

project with Zenny and George Kittle. You

1:01

might see that a little bit later, but anyways, it

1:03

didn't take very long, did it? All things

1:06

were quiet. And then Brandon Iuk announced

1:08

on, I think his podcast,

1:11

a podcast, Ryan Clark's podcast, that

1:13

he was going to arrange a

1:15

meeting at Santa Clara

1:17

with John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan. So

1:22

I have reached out to the sources.

1:24

I have reached out to people that

1:27

are close to the organization and I

1:29

cannot confirm that Brandon Iuk went to the

1:32

building. I mean his word is his word,

1:34

so I believe he did, but

1:36

I have no information

1:39

outside of that on a meeting, how it

1:41

went or what went on. So

1:45

this whole situation with the 49ers

1:47

and Brandon Iuk is incredibly unique.

1:50

Now, no one is at headquarters

1:52

right now. I mean, not no one, there

1:54

are a few players there, but generally all

1:56

the coaches are off, the players are out.

1:59

They are at their home base. Some

2:01

of them are there rehabbing. I think

2:03

Talano Hufunga usually stays in Santa Clara

2:05

as a house there doing

2:08

his rehab for his ACL with coordinator's

2:10

medical staff. A lot of

2:12

guys are not. Trevor Erisward is going

2:14

home. He's rehabbing from a core muscle

2:16

surgery. George Kittle is here in Nashville

2:19

rehabbing from his injury. So

2:22

generally, most players, most

2:24

staff position coaches are not there. They

2:26

are not required to be there. Kyle

2:29

Shanahan usually doesn't ask those guys to come in

2:31

until about a week before training camp starts. So

2:34

it's really a dead time in Santa Clara.

2:36

So for Brandon Ayuk to make the move

2:39

dance, have a meeting is

2:41

very unique. I have

2:43

not heard of this happening since I've been covering

2:45

the team, which is not that long. It's still

2:47

being my 11th season, so not as long as

2:50

Matt. But I don't

2:52

think he recalls. He didn't

2:54

tell me whether he recalled or not something like

2:56

this happening before. But it is a

2:58

unique situation. The Brandon Ayuk

3:00

situation with the foreigners is unique. Looking

3:04

at what could happen, I did

3:06

write a story on mbcsportsbayarea.com about

3:09

the possibilities of

3:11

what could happen to Brandon Ayuk. Now, outside

3:15

of him, I mean, potentially he could get

3:17

traded. Potentially he could reach an

3:19

agreement with the team. We don't

3:21

know what's going to happen, but there's such a

3:23

range of what could happen. Now,

3:27

maybe there's a few little things that are

3:29

off between the two parties. Maybe it's a

3:31

million dollars here, a million dollars there. That's

3:34

crazy talk to normal people. Like probably most

3:36

of you that are listening and definitely for

3:39

me, million dollars here, million dollars there.

3:41

But a lot of times

3:43

in contract negotiations, the scope of

3:45

it is so huge like this, it

3:48

is the small details. They could be

3:50

very close on a total number of

3:53

guaranteed money. It could be really close

3:55

on an average yearly salary.

3:58

They could be close and it could be injury

4:00

guarantees or bonuses or small

4:02

details that keep the contract

4:05

from being agreed upon. Now

4:07

it also could be that they are really far apart

4:09

on what each side wants. It could be that Brandon

4:12

Ayuk is asking for a certain amount of

4:14

yearly salary, certain amount of guaranteed money, and the

4:16

49ers are saying, no, we are going to stick

4:19

with this amount. If

4:22

it's a small difference between what the two

4:24

parties want, I would think that an agreement

4:26

gets done. Now, of course, we

4:28

don't know what the 49ers are offering. We

4:31

don't know what Brandon Ayuk wants. I

4:33

would assume that Brandon Ayuk wants to be

4:35

one of the top paid

4:37

wide receivers in the NFL. Now the

4:39

range is really

4:42

big. Justin Jefferson's contract, $140

4:44

million, $35 million average per year, $110

4:52

million guaranteed. That is an insane amount

4:54

of money for a wide receiver. He

4:56

is the highest paid non-quarterback in the

4:58

league at this point. Now,

5:01

does Brandon Ayuk deserve that much money? As

5:05

much as Brandon Ayuk has done for the 49ers,

5:08

he is incredibly talented. He has a

5:10

lot of connection and chemistry with Brock

5:12

Pretty. But what Justin

5:14

Jefferson brings to the team, the

5:16

Minnesota Vikings, is that any

5:19

defense that plays the Minnesota Vikings has

5:21

to gear themselves around what Justin Jefferson

5:23

does. Now, Brandon Ayuk,

5:26

yes, a cornerback is going to have

5:28

to adjust to how Brandon Ayuk runs his routes. They

5:30

are going to have to guard him a certain way.

5:33

But it's not necessarily the entire

5:36

defense of a team focusing

5:39

on one player. Now, you

5:41

look at it when Kyle Shanahan does

5:44

it on the offensive side, right?

5:46

The entire offense would play and

5:48

be schemed to neutralize Aaron Donald.

5:51

So that's the type of

5:53

thing in reverse that defenses playing the

5:56

Minnesota Vikings and Justin Jefferson have to

5:58

do. That's what Brandon Ayuk does. that garners

6:01

a huge payday. Now,

6:03

again, Brendan, very talented, did a lot

6:05

for the 49ers offense thus far in

6:07

his four years, but he

6:10

has a second team all-pro recognition. And

6:12

I know sometimes those things can be

6:14

political. It's somewhat of a popularity contest,

6:16

but Justin Jefferson has

6:19

4,000-yard seasons. He

6:21

has all-pro year. He was

6:23

offensive player of the year. And

6:27

the three pro-ball nods, he's

6:30

very decorated. He is

6:32

kind of a one-of-one. Brendan

6:34

Ayuk not saying he's not one-of-one, but

6:37

maybe he falls somewhere a little bit

6:39

lower on the totem pole in regards

6:41

to wide receiver salaries. I

6:44

was looking at wide receiver contracts, all the extensions

6:46

that got done during

6:48

the 2024, 2023 off-season. And

6:53

Brendan Ayuk is kind of

6:56

similar to Jalen Waddle of

6:58

the Miami Dolphins. Now, of

7:01

the top wide receivers, it is

7:03

Justin Jefferson, then A.J. Brown with $96 million, average

7:05

of $32 million a year. Amman,

7:09

Ross, St. Brown, Lions, $120 million total

7:12

contract, $30

7:15

million a year, 77 guaranteed. Okay,

7:18

before that, Justin Jefferson, 110

7:20

million guaranteed, A.J. Brown, 84

7:23

million guaranteed, Amman, Ross, St. Brown,

7:27

77 million guaranteed, Tyreek

7:29

Hill, $72.2 million guaranteed, he makes $30 million

7:31

a year. Now,

7:34

Jalen Waddle is about, I

7:36

think the most comparable wide receiver

7:38

in those top kind of rankings

7:40

of salaries that could be compared

7:42

to Brendan Ayuk. So Jalen Waddle

7:45

signed a three-year extension worth $84 million, $84.7.

7:50

He's got an average salary of $28.2 million a year and

7:54

$76 million guaranteed. I

7:58

would think that those type of numbers. What

20:00

is it about his game that makes him so different

20:02

from other tight ends? He does it all. He

20:04

does it all with a smile on his face.

20:06

He's probably the best blocking tight end in football.

20:08

You lose nothing with him as a receiver. And

20:11

then I would say probably the best thing, once

20:13

the ball is in his hands, like look out.

20:15

No one wants to tackle him. But, you know,

20:17

I would also say this. There

20:19

are teammates that I've played with that

20:21

are just so amazing in terms of

20:23

emotional intelligence and energy. Like the opposite

20:26

of an energy vampire. That dude just

20:28

brings energy to every huddle that he's

20:30

in. And I think that's really important.

20:33

I started in the NFL with Brett Favre

20:35

as the starting quarterback. That dude, his

20:37

energy and emotion was just contagious. It's

20:39

a leadership style that not a lot

20:41

of people have. George definitely has it.

20:44

And I know you've watched the Super Bowl with Brock

20:46

Purdy, George Piddle. What have you seen from their connection?

20:48

Brock Purdy's a baller. I mean, people will say,

20:51

oh, he doesn't have wow throws. B.S.

20:53

Like turn the tape on. That dude has

20:56

wow throws. He's

20:58

a great quarterback. And I know he might not

21:00

win a combine competition

21:02

or whatever, but he would win a quarterback

21:04

competition in my mind. I think he's a

21:06

great player. I mean, how much more

21:09

important is it for a guy what's in

21:11

between his ears as opposed to, you know,

21:13

those combine measurements that you're talking about? I

21:15

think a lot of it is decision making in

21:18

a split second. It's also making the throw

21:20

at the moment of truth. I use this

21:22

example a lot with the quarterbacks that I

21:24

coach. The best

21:26

golfers in the world, they make that putt

21:29

the first time. Like you don't

21:31

get a second chance. Like when the pressure's on,

21:33

the moment is there, time to make the putt,

21:35

they make the putt. And I think that's what

21:37

Brock Purdy has done. He was given an opportunity

21:39

and he seized the opportunity, took advantage of it,

21:41

and he made those big time throws in a

21:43

split second when they needed to be made. A lot

21:45

of guys out there are like, oh, I could have done that. Yeah,

21:47

but you didn't when the opportunity arose. And

21:50

he took advantage of it. And I don't think he'll

21:52

ever look back. How hard is

21:54

it as a quarterback to make those split

21:56

second decisions, you know, as accurately as you

21:58

can? I think it's just... about

24:00

George Kittle. I mean, who doesn't? But

24:03

definitely listen to what he has to say coming

24:05

out right now. This

24:10

is Fort Neres Talk and we're talking with Dak

24:12

Prescott here at Titans University. How

24:14

impressive is it that George Kittle can put

24:16

together this entire event? Yeah, it's huge.

24:18

As you said, for George to have a

24:20

vision of bringing other Titans together, of really

24:22

being able to share information, educate

24:24

each other, and just get better, it's

24:26

special. Obviously getting here yesterday, the welcome

24:29

party to meetings today, to

24:31

the on the field was excellent. Got a lot

24:33

of great work, information was shared. Definitely got better

24:35

and looking forward to the concert and then tomorrow

24:37

getting better. How much does what

24:40

George Kittle does on the field

24:42

help a quarterback out? A

24:44

Titan is a quarterback's best friend and you look around the league

24:46

and you're looking for guys that do it right and you don't

24:48

have to look any further than George Kittle, a guy that blocks

24:52

down in and down out, goes and catches

24:54

passes. He never has to come off the

24:56

field no matter what the situation is. He's

24:58

a mismatch advantage and that's what makes Titans

25:00

great and I've got a young great one

25:03

in Jake Ferguson as well and love love

25:05

Titans. How much can you get from

25:07

an event like this where you're throwing to a bunch

25:09

of different guys? Yeah, it's just a great workout

25:11

for me. Obviously he's just needing to throw anyways, getting

25:13

to come out here and throw to such elite guys

25:15

and different body types, guys that run different. I really

25:17

just challenged myself a little bit. I always say a

25:19

good quarterback can make anybody catch the ball and so

25:22

I had some fun challenging myself to

25:24

do that, learning some new personnel, some new guys and

25:26

it's fun. I think these guys for allowing me to

25:28

come out. And the technique that they're

25:30

teaching and the cuddles and stuff, how much

25:32

does that help you getting

25:34

those minute details really dialed in?

25:37

Yeah, well I think the reason a Titan is a

25:39

quarterback's best friend is because you communicate so well and

25:41

you're on the same page and understand each other. So

25:44

just me being able to use this as

25:46

a resource to learn the Titan position even

25:48

further and not only that, to speed

25:50

up my process with Jake, but to really be able

25:52

to invest in what I'm learning out here to give

25:55

to these young Titans like Schoonmaker, some of my guys

25:57

back in Dallas to elevate their game and

25:59

to make sure that that they're getting is better and getting

26:01

up to the speed of Jake as fast as we

26:03

can. All right, big quarterback

26:05

contracts were done this off season. Does that make you

26:07

look forward to what's ahead for you? I

26:10

love playing football and what comes with it comes with it. Thank

26:12

you. All

26:16

right, quarterback, Cowboys quarterback, Dak Prescott

26:18

had a lot of great things

26:20

to say about George Kittle. I

26:23

thought I was being kind and saying,

26:25

hey, it's gotta be exciting when quarterback

26:27

contracts are going through the roof. And

26:30

he is one of them's ready to

26:32

get another quarterback contract, but yeah,

26:34

he wasn't ready to talk about that, but I get it.

26:36

But he had great things to say about George

26:38

Kittle. All right, one of

26:40

the most insightful interviews I had

26:43

at Titans University was with NFL

26:45

Fox commentator and

26:47

analyst Greg Olson. Now

26:49

Greg Olson played a lot of years as well, kind

26:52

of like Matt Hasselbeck played a lot of years for

26:54

the Carolina Panthers as a tight end. He,

26:56

George Kittle and Travis Kelsey are the founders of

26:59

Titan University. So he's been there every single year.

27:02

But Greg Olson also was

27:04

the guy who was in the booth

27:06

calling Brock Purdy's game when he first

27:08

started week 14, 2022,

27:12

when Brock Purdy faced off

27:14

with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom

27:16

Brady. So he has watched

27:19

Brock Purdy from the beginning and

27:21

then throughout all these different NFL and

27:23

Fox games all the

27:25

way through to the NFC championship game

27:28

in 2023. So take a listen to what

27:30

Greg Olson had to say. Lots of great stuff about George

27:32

Kittle, how Titans you started, and

27:35

of course the 49ers and

27:37

where they might end up at the end of

27:39

the 2024 season. This

27:44

is 49ers talking, we're here with Greg Olson,

27:46

one of the founders of Titans University. How

27:48

has this event grown so much since you

27:50

started it? Yeah, it's pretty incredible that just from

27:52

a little casual conversation via text between George and

27:54

I, and just thinking about getting down here to

27:57

Nashville and working out with a handful of tight

27:59

ends that live. right,

30:00

but want to share that knowledge. They want to

30:02

share those experiences with you. I mean, what a

30:04

blessing. What a what an opportunity. And I think

30:06

the young guys that embrace that the most take

30:08

the most out of it. But you know, I

30:10

had I'd Austin Hooper and Dallas Goddard. I mean,

30:12

guys that have planned for a long time at

30:14

a high level in this league. And they told

30:16

me last night, the concert was like, they said

30:18

every single time we come out of here, we

30:21

still go away learning something new. And I said, well,

30:23

as long as that's the case, then the event is

30:25

working. And so I think that's really the beauty of

30:27

it all. You spent a

30:29

lot of time watching 49ers games last

30:31

year. What is it about George

30:33

Kittle? And I mean, senses that he's really

30:35

joined the league that makes him so special on the

30:37

field. Well, you know, obviously, there's not

30:40

a lot of guys like George from a skill

30:42

set standpoint, right? I mean, the ability to be

30:44

on the field in an offense that Kyle runs

30:46

that is very demanding of the tight end position.

30:48

You know, we think of the tight end position

30:50

now as yards and catches, and he

30:52

obviously gets his there being 1000 yards a few

30:54

times in his career. But you know, his ability

30:56

to be on the field for the past protection

30:58

for the run blocking to really

31:01

carry the heavy load of a lot of those

31:03

run schemes and past designs where his ability to

31:05

be physical and his ability to be multiple and

31:07

athletic and strong at the point of attack or fast

31:09

and athletic as a polar as a lead blocker, I

31:11

mean, he gets asked to do a lot of different

31:13

things. So from a skill set

31:16

standpoint, that's very challenging. But then there's also

31:18

like a mentality that goes into

31:20

a review really buy into that role and

31:22

you don't shy away from the parts you

31:24

don't like or shy away from parts that

31:26

maybe you'd rather not do. He embraces all

31:28

of it. He loves it. He's just as

31:30

excited for a big run block as he

31:32

is a touchdown pass. And I think that's

31:34

just the way he's wired. I think that's

31:36

just that's what makes him special. It's what makes

31:38

him unique. And ultimately, it makes him like the

31:40

perfect fit for what Kyle wants to do as

31:42

an offense. So there's a lot

31:45

of really talented guys there. But you

31:47

can make an argument that George is one

31:49

of those linchpins that allows the system to operate

31:51

as well as it does. And then

31:53

you've watched a lot of Brock Purdy. What

31:56

are you? What are your thoughts on Brock pretty and how

31:58

he's grown since he first took over the role? Yeah. It

32:00

was cool because I actually called

32:02

Brock's first start two years

32:05

ago in that game against Tampa, lining up against

32:07

Brady out in San Francisco. We called that game

32:09

and then all the way up to calling him

32:11

in the NFC Championship this year. So I felt

32:13

like I was there at the beginning and then

32:15

I kind of saw it there at the end

32:17

at his high. It was just pretty

32:20

remarkable what he's been able to accomplish in such

32:22

a short period of time. And I think it's

32:24

a testament to the amount of time he played

32:26

in college. He had a lot of reps, a

32:28

lot of experience. And just his demeanor, everybody you

32:31

talk to there, they're just like, the guy is

32:33

such a stud. I think people

32:35

don't give him enough credit for what he does because

32:37

he's kind of at the mercy of the talented guys

32:39

around him. And I don't think it

32:41

should be used against him. I think he's earned everything

32:43

he's had. He's as big a

32:46

part of the reason why they're winning. They're not

32:48

winning in spite of him. They're winning a lot

32:50

of times because of him. And I think that's

32:52

important for people to realize. And with the Christian

32:54

McCaffrey's and the Kittles and the Trent Williams and

32:56

Deebo and IU, I mean, we can go on

32:58

and on. That's just on offense. The

33:00

stars they have, I think

33:02

sometimes people hold it against him. And

33:04

I think from a football standpoint, people who

33:07

study football, who watch football and watch

33:09

what makes that offense click, I think

33:11

that's a huge mistake. But how

33:13

much do you base his success on

33:16

the ability to make those quick in

33:18

play decisions? Yeah. Yeah, Brian

33:20

Greasy is a guy I played with, obviously

33:22

the quarterback coach out there and works day

33:24

to day with him. He told me last

33:26

year, he said his magic wand,

33:28

his secret weapon is he's the fastest processor

33:31

I've ever been around. Sam Darnold told me

33:33

the exact same thing. I've known Sam for

33:35

a couple years now. And for both of

33:37

those guys, unprompted to say that, it

33:40

speaks volumes, right? They're not just saying it to

33:42

coach speak. I mean, we're just having a personal

33:44

conversation talking about Brock and what

33:46

a great couple of years he's had. And

33:48

they're just like his ability to process things

33:50

quickly, eliminate the throws that aren't there, get

33:52

through his progression to the throws that are

33:54

there. What the coverage dictates, what the play

33:56

call dictates is

34:00

a huge differentiator in this league, and he does that at

34:02

a very high level. All right, one more. Where

34:05

do you feel like the 49ers will be going

34:07

through this season? Yeah, I mean,

34:09

until proven otherwise, you have to imagine the

34:11

conference goes through them. I mean, obviously, you

34:13

know, being in the Super Bowl just, you

34:15

know, six months ago, five months ago, whatever

34:18

it was, you know, and you can argue

34:20

they're gonna just continue to get better, keeping

34:22

a lot of those pieces together, especially the

34:24

Stars. They got Brock

34:26

on a rookie contract here for another at least year

34:29

or two, which is super helpful,

34:31

paying all these other guys. So it aligns for

34:33

them very well, and we've

34:35

spent all this time just talking about their offense,

34:37

and obviously, there's a couple good players on the defense

34:39

I think that are gonna be okay, you

34:41

know, obviously with Fred and Bosa and

34:43

those guys. So it's as talented a

34:45

roster as there is in the NFL.

34:47

They're paying their quarterback relatively nothing compared

34:49

to the market, and they have

34:51

arguably the best coach and the best scheme. So they

34:53

have all the boxes checked, and

34:56

so they're not gonna be able to

34:58

get the ball until someone proves otherwise.

35:00

The NFC still feels like a San

35:02

Francisco race until,

35:05

you know, the Dallas is in the Phillies or someone,

35:07

you know, knocks them off going forward. All right.

35:09

Good news for 49ers fans, right? That

35:14

Bray Gelson still believes that

35:16

the NFC runs through San Francisco. I

35:18

mean, what great insight from him talking to Brian

35:20

Greasy, who said that

35:22

Brock Pretty is one of the fastest processors

35:25

in the world, and I think those are really,

35:27

really huge compliments. I mean, that says a lot

35:30

for the quarterback's coach to say that in just kind

35:32

of casual conversation. So that

35:34

is pretty much it for 49ers Talk.

35:37

Coming at you from Nashville,

35:40

more tight-end university interviews to come.

35:44

Just a little bit of news on the

35:46

social front for the 49ers players. It

35:48

looks like Olivia Colpo and Christian

35:50

McCaffrey are getting set for their

35:52

nuptials. Olivia Colpo posted,

35:55

both of them getting on a private jet, and

35:58

the caption was, and so it begins. So

36:00

of course all of us on For Nears Talk, wishing

36:03

the future McCaffrey's to

36:05

have a fantastic week. All

36:08

right, don't forget to subscribe,

36:10

don't forget to review and

36:12

leave us some comments. And if you've got other

36:14

topics you'd like us to discuss on For Nears

36:16

Talk coming up, please leave those

36:18

in the comments. And as always, great

36:21

to talk to you and we will bring you

36:23

all the news and updates anytime

36:25

it happens here on For Nears Talk. Talk to

36:27

you soon. A

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