Following the departure of assistant general manager Adam Peters to the Washington Commanders, Tariq Ahmad and RJ Gillen have both been promoted to director of player personnel.
Ahmad and Gillen are tenured members of the 49ers scouting department, serving as the Director of College Scouting and Director of Pro Personnel, respectively, and will now share equal titles within the front office. The move serves to effectively fill the assistant general manager position left vacant by Peters. Lynch explained that more moves within the front office may come in between or after the draft, but for now, the general manager is happy to be promoting for this position from within.
“It was really an easy decision to promote both those two to director of player personnel,” Lynch said. “We’re not calling them ‘co-directors of player personnel’ simply because I think they both earned it on their own… I’m really excited for those guys. They’ve both been integral parts to who we have been as an organization and it is very natural.”
As contract talk regarding wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk heats up, the 49ers remain optimistic and complimentary of their 2023 receiving yards leader.
Aiyuk closed out 2023 with Second-Team All-Pro honors and finished as the 49ers receiving yards leader for a second-straight season. The former 2020 first round draft pick had his fifth-year option picked up, however, the 49ers have historically signed their big-time extension players prior to the start of their fifth season. That’s been the case with defensive lineman Nick Bosa and wide receiver Deebo Samuel most recently. Heading into the offseason, and again at the NFL Combine, Lynch has reiterated the integral part Aiyuk has played on San Francisco’s offense and wanting him to remain in a 49ers uniform, but no moves have been made at this point.
“Brandon’s one that we think incredibly highly of, one of my favorite guys around our building,” Lynch said. “The way he approaches the game, he’s a competitor. He’s a warrior. He plays with such a physicality, also with a grace, the way some of the positions his body can get into.
“Then, he’s got a flare for making plays when it matters most, and he’s served us very well as a franchise. I think we’ve got a nice track record of extending the players that are important to us and Brandon’s a guy we want to keep around for a long time.”
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