Shanahan: Aiyuk's ‘time will come' as he continues to impress

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WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Brandon Aiyuk might not be putting up eye-popping numbers, but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan believes the third-year wide receiver is playing his best football. 

Through five games this season, Aiyuk has caught 17 of his 27 total targets for 237 yards and one touchdown. These are modest numbers for the wideout who appeared to be a breakout candidate at training camp after finishing his 2021 campaign with 65 catches for 951 yards and five touchdowns. 

“Yeah, everyone expects numbers based off of guys playing well and it just doesn't always work that way,” Shanahan said. “B.A.'s been playing really good. I thought he had his best game versus Carolina, his second-best game the week before, but the ball doesn't always go that way.” 

Shanahan’s emphasis always is on the run game and that is what dominated the play calls in Carolina. The club ran the ball a total of 29 times and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo attempted 30 passes. Aiyuk actually received the second-most targets (4) on offense, while registering three receptions for 58 yards. 

Garoppolo only attempted more passes to George Kittle, who caught five of his six targets for 47 yards and Deebo Samuel who only hauled in two of his nine targets for 20 yards and a touchdown. 

“His time will come,” Shanahan said of Aiyuk. “When we’ve gone to B.A., he's done a hell of a job. He had some opportunities last week that we just didn't get it to him. That would've helped his stats and helped perception, but that's all it is to me, and B.A.'s playing his ass off.”

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What is important to Shanahan more than stats is what a player does when they don’t have the ball in their hands. The head coach has seen Aiyuk improve in his route running in addition to his blocking, which caries more weight for the head coach. 
  
“There's games that guys have really good stats and we announce some MVPs of the game and sometimes I don't think they had a very good game,” Shanahan said. “So it always doesn't go to stats. It's about watching the guy play football and he's a very good football player right now.”

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