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San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. is the WR44 on the season. Despite having missed one full game and being pulled early from Week 7 before recording any statistics, that's still been a massively disappointing year for what used to be an elite upside player in fantasy football.
Yet, inexplicably, he scored 25.1 PPR fantasy points in Week 16, making fantasy managers grapple yet again with the choice of starting him. While there aren't many players left to sub him in for, many may be wondering if they should start him over another 49ers WR like Jauan Jennings or perhaps one of the Detroit Lions' options at the position.
We'll try to break things down for you here to give you the best recommendation.
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Deebo Samuel Sr. Fantasy Football Outlook
It was surprising to see Samuel get so much volume after five straight contests with 22 or fewer receiving yards. Yet 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan once again made a point out of getting him the ball. He had a slew of terrible drops the previous few games, so he left plenty of points on the field, but his target volume had been simply miserable over that stretch.
Deebo Samuel now that 80% of his managers benched him: pic.twitter.com/SJzX9fJvZV
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) December 22, 2024
It could have been a matchup-based thing. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey handled Jennings pretty well, and it seemed like they prioritized limiting his production and bottling him up. This left Samuel in some favorable coverage assignments where he was given plenty of space to run after the catch, and he racked up seven catches on nine targets for 96 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed five times for 25 yards.
His outlook is a bit more favorable for Week 17 simply because of the increased target volume.
Should I Start Deebo Samuel Sr. in Week 17?
San Fran will face the Detroit Lions in Week 17. Detroit's defense has been destroyed by injuries. A sea of red letters is never a good thing on a team's depth chart, especially when a ton of key players are out, and many of them are in positions that are tasked with handling Samuel.
Updated Lions Depth Chart on ESPN
Look at all the red 🤯
Unbelievable pic.twitter.com/6QSZf9zM8I
— 313 Takes (@313takes) December 16, 2024
The loss of so many linebackers will likely make it more difficult for them to handle Samuel's YAC ability. And they'll still be missing two of their key cornerbacks. These all give Samuel a higher ceiling, and he seems like a worthy WR3/FLEX with upside for more now. We think it's fine to start him, but the potential for a dud game is always there, as he's shown us already.
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