San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan got Brandon Aiyuk's attention when he said that Deebo Samuel is the fastest wide receiver on the team, and Aiyuk is using that as motivation this season.

“Yeah, I wasn't here for his first year, but I watched him a lot my rookie year,” Brandon Aiyuk said, via Jarrod Castillo of NBC Sports Bay Area. “And he looks good. Kyle said today he's the fastest receiver we have. That's what he said.”

Aiyuk was asked who he personally feels is faster, and he said he is “not going to talk about it.” He said that the debate between Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel has been going on for years with the 49ers, however, according to Castillo.

“We've been having this debate going on for like three, four years,” Aiyuk said, via Castillo. “I just don't see nobody beating me. But he feels the same way.”

Aiyuk said he believes Kyle Shanahan saying this is a way of motivating his players.

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“He's trying to get somebody going,” Aiyuk said, via Castillo. “They talked about how we weren't that fast yesterday, coming off them off days.”

Aiyuk clarified that there is no animosity, and that Samuel making a play in a game motivates him to make a play as well.

“Yeah, we just talked about it before. We just talked about it last week. I said when I was at the podium, ‘If I see Deebo make a play, alright it's my turn to make a play' and it's vice versa,” Aiyuk said, via Castillo. “Same for George [Kittle], same for anybody.”

Aiyuk said everyone wants to match an intensity level that leads to a high level of play, and he still believes that he will “take off” in 2023, according to Castillo. It seems Shanahan's methods of motivation might be working.