Deebo Samuel Fantasy Football Value With 49ers After Returning Amid Ricky Pearsall Injury
Fantasy

Deebo Samuel Fantasy Football Value With 49ers After Returning Amid Ricky Pearsall Injury

Deebo Samuel returns to San Francisco after a season away. What does it mean for his fantasy value with so many injuries throughout their wide receiver room already?

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Quick. Someone get on the Photoshop edit.

Deebo Samuel is back with the San Francisco 49ers, signing with his former team on a one-year deal. The move comes shortly after troubling injury updates surrounding Ricky Pearsall, whose PCL issues could sideline him indefinitely. Between Pearsall’s absence, Christian Kirk’s calf injury, George Kittle’s Achilles recovery and, well, Mike Evans’ age, there is absolutely a shot for Samuel to return to fantasy football relevancy after going unsigned for months.

SF_49ers-logo.svgWhat Is Deebo Samuel's Fantasy Football Value With 49ers In 2026?

Of course, learning the offense won’t be an issue. Samuel spent his first six NFL seasons in San Francisco alongside Kyle Shanahan, who featured his YAC ability. He isn’t the same player he once was, seeing his yards after the catch per reception fall each of the last two seasons, including a career-low mark of 6.5 yards last season in Washington. Samuel caught 72 passes for 727 yards and five touchdowns with the Commanders, getting off to a great start, catching 14-of-22 targets for 121 yards and a touchdown during the first two weeks while adding a rushing score. But, from then on, Jayden Daniels was in and out of the lineup, and Washington’s offense ultimately crumbled. 

On 181 routes with Daniels on the field, Samuel was targeted on 25% of them, averaging 0.46 fantasy points per route. And in games where Daniels played most of the snaps, Samuel averaged a respectable 12.1 fantasy points per contest. He did benefit from multiple absences of Terry McLaurin, and now, even in an injured wide receiver room in San Francisco, Samuel will certainly have more target competition. 

Samuel will likely compete with rookie De’Zhaun Stribling for WR2 duties in Pearsall’s absence, while I’m sure Shanahan will once again deploy Samuel out of the backfield from time to time. Especially with backup running back Jordan James dealing with a rib injury. And in all honesty, Samuel could even take a few high-value touches and targets from the backfield from Christian McCaffrey, though this shouldn’t downgrade him in anyone’s fantasy football rankings. Dwain McFarland updated his fantasy football projections, with Samuel now the WR2 on the 49ers depth chart with a 70% route share and 4% rush share.

Now set to see one of the largest spikes in fantasy football ADP in all drafts, Samuel obviously becomes a very viable late-round selection, though still mostly best ball formats for now. The 49ers have been talking incredibly highly of Stribling, and given the shockingly high draft capital, it would make sense for them to give him the first crack at filling in for Pearsall. Both pass catchers now have the potential to post WR3 numbers this season, though there’s certainly a path for Samuel to see more consistent usage due to his ability to see schemed touches in an offense he’s kind of, sort of, familiar with.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Deebo Samuel
    DeeboSamuel
    WRWASWAS
    PPG
    9.1
    Proj
    132.4
  2. Ricky Pearsall
    RickyPearsall
    WRSFSF
    PPG
    6.4
    Proj
    5.1
  3. Christian Kirk
    ChristianKirk
    WRSFSF
    PPG
    5.5
    Proj
    32.7
  4. George Kittle
    GeorgeKittleQ
    TESFSF
    PPG
    11.2
    Proj
    123.1

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