49ers' Brandon Aiyuk still amazed by Kyle Shanahan's strategic play

SANTA CLARA — Even after four seasons with the 49ers, Brandon Aiyuk still finds his mind blown by Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme.

In the team’s Week 15 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Deebo Samuel had over 12 yards of separation on his first touchdown of the game in the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy threw a short pass to the left as the defense seemed to have forgotten about the “wide linebacker.”

“Last week, on the play Deebo made, we were like, ‘There’s no way they’re going to leave him like that.’ “I don’t know what to do,” Aiyuk told NBC Sports Bay Area. “We didn’t think this would happen, and then it definitely did.”

Shanahan made it clear to the offense that he saw a tendency in the Cardinals’ defense that could be exploited with a little acting by Samuel. Aiyuk added that sometimes they might question what Shanahan expects to happen in games, but the head coach is always right.

“I think sometimes it’ll be like, ‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ or ‘Okay, I see that,’” Aiyuk said. “There’s always one point in the week where whether you agree or not, what it might look like It has a certain appearance, or how it could happen, by Sunday, there is only one answer and that is the way everyone sees it.

“There were a few times like that a year where we might have doubts, and then you get to the game and it shows. Sometimes it’s crazy.”

Shanahan is known for his detailed film study sessions, which can be long, but Aiyuk said everyone pays close attention. The head coach provides his ‘vision’ for each week, and then when they split into their position groups, they watch again with that task in mind.

The wide receiver believes the film sessions help the entire team get on the same page before each weekly contest. Aiyuk benefited from his head coach’s game planning with 59 receptions for 1,090 yards and six touchdowns over 13 games.

2023 is Aiyuk’s second straight 1,000-yard season, and the Arizona State product currently has an average of 18.5 yards per reception. The player’s success is widely attributed in part to weekly sessions with his head coach.

“It’s definitely fun,” Aiyuk said. “Film shoots are fun, it’s football. We all see football in a similar way, so it’s fun to talk about it and go through it together.

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