SANTA CLARA — The Brandon Aiyuk Show was on the 49ers' practice field Sunday, a direct result of the receiver's offseason preparation.
The fourth-year wideout has taken his game to the next level, which includes a focus on his physical conditioning.
“I feel good,” Aiyuk said on Sunday. “We will see tomorrow when we put the pads on. It’s a little different when your mind if going a million miles an hour. It seems like your body -- it’s just less work that you have to go through. It feels like every play is not just a thousand miles per hour and full exertion on the body. Just to be able to get to certain spots and just play football."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan has been impressed with how Aiyuk entered training camp, describing the receiver as football obsessed.
“Just the way he was all offseason,” Shanahan said on Sunday. “I mean just randomly calling, talking about football, how much he's working out, how prepared he was when we started in phase one and two. You can just tell he is excited. The questions he asked, he's just, he's really into it.”
Aiyuk starred during the 49ers' red zone work Sunday. He caught four touchdown passes -- three from Sam Darnold and one from Brandon Allen. There was a fifth completion from Darnold that was very close to being a touchdown, as well.
The most eye-opening aspect of Aiyuk’s self-criticism of his 2022 season was hearing him describe the plays that got away: Missed go-balls in Week 5 when the team faced the Carolina Panthers and then again in Week 15 in a win over the Seattle Seahawks.
San Francisco 49ers
Aiyuk went on to describe a missed opportunity when facing the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10 and another facing the Seahawks during the playoffs. The 25-year old is determined to not let those get away again.
Another aspect of Aiyuk’s ascent is a healthy competition with teammate Deebo Samuel. The two wideouts have almost a one-upmanship with each other in an effort to keep their level of play at the highest level.
“I love having him as a teammate because you have someone around who motivates you,” Aiyuk said. “I like to watch him and see the stuff that he does, the way he goes about his business. That motivates me me to be better. I’m sure he’d say the same thing, so we have each other.”