San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk hauled in a career-high 10 passes and a career-high 119 receiving yards on Sunday. It wasn't enough to lift the 49ers to a win over the Washington Football Team, though.
Aiyuk is just 267 receiving yards away from Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's 49ers rookie record for receiving yards. About 89 yards in each of these final three games should put him in a position to surpass that mark. Aiyuk has had 91-or-more yards in three of his last four game appearances.
Despite the seemingly impressive numbers, Rice said on 95.7 The Game that he expects more from the rookie. It sounds like head coach Kyle Shanahan feels the same way and isn't ready to declare that Aiyuk has arrived. Shanahan didn't sound overly impressed by Aiyuk's career-day against Washington, which shows how much potential the coach sees in his receiver.
"I thought he had one of his better games last week (vs. the Bills)," Shanahan told reporters on Monday. "I know he had some good stats, but I have high expectations for Brandon. I just want him to keep improving each week. Each week's a different situation.
"He is a rookie. He handles himself more like a pro than most rookies I've been around, so I think he's got a great future with that, but I still think he can play a lot better, and I think he could have last night, too. I think he took a small step back last night, and I'm hoping he'll take two forward next week."