It was a bizarre first six games for Brandon Aiyuk, but Sunday was a step in the right direction.
The second-year receiver showed flashes in the 33-22 win over the Bears, catching four passes for 45 yards and also scoring on a two-point conversion.
It was Aiyuk’s best production of the season, a surprising fact considering how excellent he was as a rookie. Yet something seemed to happen in training camp that knocked Aiyuk down the depth chart, something that Kyle Shanahan hasn’t gone into in much detail.
Longtime 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco believes the 49ers head coach finally dropped a hint during his presser on Monday, however, and explained the situation to Tolbert, Krueger & Brooks on Monday.
“Kyle Shanahan kind of dropped some hints, or at least I can read between the lines on this,” Maiocco said on KNBR. “He mentioned about the practices…and Kyle Shanahan kind of dropped this nugget that all these guys have GPS devices on them, and so they track like how hard guys are running, their speed, when they are running hard, all that kind of stuff.
“He talked about the consistency of running hard at practice every day and when you’re running routes, you are running hard, not just running hard when the ball is in your hand. And also we know they’ve made a big deal out of the practices that Brandon Aiyuk has had.
“I’ve spoken about being a pro, and I think that’s what we’re looking at. A guy who is learning how to practice, how to run routes hard, how to get open and do all the things necessary. It sounds like this wasn’t just a Kyle Shanahan thing. The teammates saw it too.
“It’s tough to flip the switch from the mentality midseason. Once you get into the season you kind of are what you are. But he’s making strides and I think it showed up yesterday for the first time.”
Shanahan said that Sunday was Aiyuk’s best game of the season and that he played his “butt off.” The receiver was rewarded with seven targets (eight if you include the two-point conversion) the most he’s seen this season.
Aiyuk will need to continue the uptick in production if the 49ers are going to turn their season around.
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Listen to the full interview below.
