Brandon Aiyuk reached an impressive milestone in the 49ers’ 28-16 cruise past the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
San Francisco’s fourth-year wideout surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the second consecutive season after torching the Seahawks for six receptions and 126 yards.
Coach Kyle Shanahan spoke to reporters after Sunday’s matinee, explaining what he admires about Aiyuk and his latest accomplishment.
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“Just every year, [Aiyuk] gets so much better on the football field and also off the football field, which leads to the football field in terms of how mature he is," Shanahan said. "He’s one of our leaders in there. I think BA’s come a long way. He gets so amped up for the games.”
Aiyuk became the fifth 49ers receiver to have consecutive 1,000-plus-yard seasons and is the first for San Francisco since Anquan Boldin, who did the same during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Shanahan praised Aiyuk’s development, emphasizing how deserving the receiver is of such a feat.
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“Sometimes he won’t get the ball for a little bit, then he’ll come in late, and sometimes it happens early," Shanahan said. “But just BA this year, it really doesn’t matter with him. He plays the same way down in and down up. It carries over in the run game and the pass game. With the type of football player he is and how talented he is, you always feel it’s only a matter of time until he’s going to get his thousand [yards]. He deserves it and he’s been great for us this year.”
Aiyuk leads the 10-3 49ers with 1,053 yards receiving through 13 games and already passed his total last season (1,015) with four games remaining.
Making such plays, Aiyuk is a staple in Shanahan’s offense and hopefully will continue to be a threat on the field with the 49ers for years.
The Arizona State product has earned 250 receptions for 3,642 yards and 24 touchdowns since being selected by San Francisco with the 25th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.