San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has been singled out as a "fantastic" player ready for a breakout season. His teammate, tight end George Kittle, revealed that Aiyuk recently tormented defenders behind the scenes at pre-season training.
The 2020 first-round draft pick from Arizona State is coming off his first 1,000-yard NFL campaign, and Kittle suggested there is more to come from him in a squad loaded with receiving talent.
"I think one guy that you guys are going to love to watch is Brandon Aiyuk," Kittle said on Pardon My Take. "Holy cow. He was cooking our defence all of OTAs. It was so fun to watch.
"We have like six mouths to feed on our offence. And so, if he was in an offence where he was the number one choice and got 12 targets a game, he'd probably have 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns a year. He's fantastic."
Aiyuk came into the NFL somewhat overshadowed by other wide receivers drafted in his class. CeeDee Lamb went 17th overall and Justin Jefferson went 22nd before the 49ers took Aiyuk at 25th. Lamb and Jefferson have already been to multiple Pro Bowls.
But career trajectories operate on different timelines, and Aiyuk has slowly bridged the gap from those stars. He caught 78 passes for 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022 — all personal bests. The 25-year-old's feat came within an offence that also boasts Kittle, Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel.
Kittle recently volunteered to take on a reduced role in the passing game to facilitate increased production from others, including Aiyuk. The tight end said he enjoys blocking, anyway.
"If I have one catch a game, I know my fantasy football coach would be really mad at me for that, but it is what it is," Kittle told the 49ers' website. "As long as we're winning games and we're feeding the right guys the ball — I'm never going to get mad if Christian McCaffrey has 20 carries and 10 catches for 300 total yards, I'll never be upset about that because he's such a talented football player.
"It's really fun to be on a team that does have a problem of too many mouths to feed because coach Shanahan does such a great job of scheming everybody into getting certain plays and it's just really fun to be a part of an offense that has so much talent on it."
After reaching the NFC Championship game last term, the 49ers are among the favourites to win a title in 2023. Their defence is a cornerstone of their identity, but improved contributions on the other side of the ball give them a more well-rounded roster than when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
Aiyuk will play a significant role in their success this season and likely far into the future, as San Francisco general manager John Lynch exercised the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.
"We're really excited about Brandon," Lynch said. "I feel like he made another big step last year, and I think the best is yet to come and so we want him being a part of it.
"At some point, yeah, you have to figure things out and I guess we'll take that as it comes, but as of right now and into the future, we're really excited about Brandon Aiyuk and where he is at as a pro."
