Watch: Brandon Aiyuk hurdles his way to paydirt

Rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk leapt into the night air and landed in the end zone at the end of a long catch-and-run play.

When the San Francisco 49ers traded up in the first round to draft Brandon Aiyuk, a wide receiver out of Arizona State, it was a move met with some skepticism. Sure, the organization needed to replace Emmanuel Sanders, who was on his way to New Orleans, but was Aiyuk going to be the best fit in Kyle Shanahan’s offense?

If there was one card that Aiyuk had to play as he faced a transition to the NFL, it was his athleticism. Aiyuk showed some explosiveness after the catch at Arizona State, and sometimes that translates very well to the NFL.

It certainly did on Sunday night against the Philadelphia Eagles:

Kyle Shanahan, who does a masterful job at scheming up designs to get his players in position to be successful, calls a little screen for his rookie wide receiver. Aiyuk has some blockers in front of him, but the burst is special as he accelerates into the secondary. Then he bounces off a few tackles and finishes it off with a hurdle in the open field to get into the end zone.

Maybe he will be the answer after all?