George Kittle and Deebo Samuel are noticing something different about Brandon Aiyuk

We’re nearing the point where it’s expected that Brandon Aiyuk wins his 1-on-1 matchups. His teammates certainly expect that to happen. Aiyuk shouldn’t be considered a breakout player. That’s already happened.

The bar is higher for Aiyuk. His sights should be on entering the conversation to become a top 5-10 wide receiver in the game. His running mate, Deebo Samuel, spoke about Aiyuk’s growth:

“Just me personally seeing Brandon from a rookie until now, he’s gotten better day in and day out. Every season he’s got better, and just like, I’m seeing flashes of stuff that I ain’t seen him do. Like how fast he is now. How he’s supposed to be, and the separation that he can get in and out of routes. You can tell he’s really detailed his offseason and ready to go.”

Deebo snuck in a fantastic one-liner by saying, “you can’t cover him in a phone booth right now.”

Samuel wasn’t the only pass-catcher who was complimentary of Aiyuk. Here’s what George Kittle had to say:

“He dominates the guy across from him. He’s catching everything they throw at him. He’s making big plays and he brings a lot of excitement to our offense. He brings a lot of energy to the offense, too. We’re missing a couple of guys who aren’t practicing, but when he’s in the huddle, when he’s out there making plays, the whole team loves that stuff, and we love seeing him make those plays.”

That sounds like someone who is taking initiative. Aiyuk’s at his best when he’s jawing with others. He’s the type of player whose game goes to another level when the trash-talking starts.

Kittle noticed that Aiyuk’s been more vocal this season: “The energy he has, I think, just kind of figured it out like last year. I think he was kind of a quiet assassin, and then he just worked every single day. And while he might be a little bit louder this year, he still works the same way. And he just has this intent about his work, too, which I really appreciate.”

Kittle was confident that Aiyuk would “definitely” go over 1,000 yards again and make a ton of big plays this year for the Niners.