Deebo Samuel Fantasy

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel should return to his old role as a full-time wide receiver now that the team has plenty of impressive depth at the running back position. Albert Breer of MMQB observes that incumbent starter Elijah Mitchell remains a stud while "rookie Tyrion Davis-Price has impressed in pads [and] Trey Sermon has taken a step." With so much depth in the backfield, Samuel won't be needed to run the ball as much. He was the WR2 last season, racking up 77 receptions, 1,405 receiving yards, 59 carries, 365 rushing yards, and 14 total touchdowns through 16 games. He owns an ADP of 17 heading into 2022 fantasy drafts.

Aug. 6th • 6:50 PM

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel said his "wide back" role as a running back in 2021 was not a factor in his offseason discontent with the team when he requested a trade. He also said he's will to do "whatever it takes" to win moving forward after recently signing a three-year, $71.55 million extension to remain in San Francisco. Samuel finished last year as the WR2 in fantasy with 77 receptions, 1,405 yards, a league-leading 18.2 yards per catch and six touchdowns, adding 59 carries for 365 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in 16 regular season games. The Niners backfield was pretty beat up last year, so it's possible they won't need to use Samuel as much in a rushing role in 2022, but fantasy managers certainly weren't complaining. Either way, the 26-year-old will be a surefire top-10 fantasy pass-catcher this year.

Aug. 2nd • 6:08 PM

In case the San Francisco 49ers continue to use wide receiver Deebo Samuel as a running back this year, he has incentives in his new contract that could pay him an extra $1.95 million over the life of the contract for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, according to sources. Samuel and the Niners agreed on a three-year, $71.55 million contract extension on Sunday, and he'll be eased back into training camp practices after holding out to begin camp. The 26-year-old finished last year as the WR2 in fantasy, mainly because of his 59 rushing attempts for an extra 365 yards and eight touchdowns, but he also secured 77 of his 120 targets for 1,405 yards and six TDs through the air. Even if Samuel isn't used quite as much out of the backfield in 2022, he'll be firmly in the mix as a top-10 fantasy receiver.

Aug. 1st • 5:46 PM