Will Deebo Samuel Have Over or Under 895.5 Receiving Yards in 2021?
Deebo Samuel is a unique weapon for the San Francisco 49ers.
He isn't just a wide receiver. He does anything from taking jet sweeps, lining up in the backfield in shotgun, and operating out of the slot. Samuel is the ultimate utility player for the 49ers, which makes him a fun player to use for Kyle Shanahan.
But Samuel, especially last season, was more limited with opportunities within five yards of the line of scrimmage. A large part of that is because of the limitations of Jimmy Garoppolo. Samuel in 2020 was supposed to take a huge leap as a receiver and get close to 1,000 yards receiving. Unfortunately for him, multiple injuries throughout the season put a damper on that goal along with the quarterback play. 2021 hopes to bring a new spark for Samuel in receiving yards as Draftkings Sportsbook has set the over/under at 895.5 receiving yards for him.
So will Samuel have over or under 895.5 receiving yards in 2021?
He will have under.
Samuel is very capable of breaking 895.5 receiving yards, but I just don't believe he will eclipse it for multiple reasons. For starters, Samuel is an injury-prone player. In fact, he is just one more injury away from being labeled as such. Chances are that he finds himself on the shelf again due to an injury which will prevent him from tallying up yards.
The other reason for him going under is the talent around him. There is George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and a slew of other players to look at to platoon as the fourth to sixth options. Aiyuk especially looks like the better wide receiver and actually gets used as such, which brings me to the other last point. The way Samuel is used is not strictly as a receiver, and when he does get those looks he doesn't see routes that range from deep to intermediate. Most of the time he is just there as the quick outlet or underneath player so he can do work.
Last year, Draftkings Sportsbook had Samuel slated at 900.5 yards for over/under in a similar article I wrote last summer. He is still floating around the same area, so there is still positive hope for him as a threatening receiver. But you can only rack up so many receiving yards on those little touch passes, and even then that could have a toll on his body that needs to avoid wear and tear.
Which side would you choose for over or under 895.5 yards for Samuel?
