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49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk Assesses Himself After Two Rough Games

"I like coming back alive in the running game. Used my feet a little bit more. Just having fun."

Grant Cohn

Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) looks for yards after the catch against the Minnesota Vikings during the first quarter U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) looks for yards after the catch against the Minnesota Vikings during the first quarter U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
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SANTA CLARA -- Brandon Aiyuk was asked to assess himself today in the 49ers locker room. Here's what he said.

Q: How do you feel about your route running and how you played against the Vikings on Sunday?

AIYUK: "Felt better. Another week. Another step. That was it."

Q: You said last week you were afraid to watch the tape. Different feeling this week?

AIYUK: "I was happy to watch the tape this week."

Q: What did you like?

AIYUK: "I like coming back alive in the running game. Used my feet a little bit more. Just having fun."

Q: Where do you feel you've made the most progress early this season?

AIYUK: "Just the feeling. It's hard to explain. It's the feeling of being out there."

Q: Did you underestimate how much of a progression this would be for you?

AIYUK: "I wouldn't say I underestimated it."

Q: You obviously always want to produce, but with Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey out, do you feel more urgency to step up?

AIYUK: "I'm just looking to take another step. We have another day of practice today, so looking to get better by the end of the day, tomorrow and Friday."

Q: Does it put a little bit more on your plate with Deebo and Christian out?

AIYUK: "For sure."

Q: How do you approach it?

AIYUK: "Same as I always do. Get better today, tomorrow and on Friday."

Q: How was the Deebo podcast experience?

AIYUK: "It was pretty cool to the first guest on his podcast."

Q: Do you think he has a future in it?

AIYUK: "We'll see. I want some more questions from him. I want him to take it over a little more."

ME: In retrospect, how did missing the offseason impact you in the first couple games?

AIYUK: "Just the feeling of being on the football field, the feeling of trying to motivate 10 other guys on the field."

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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