Deebo Samuel is a Favorite to win 2022 Offensive Player of the Year Award

After an electrifying 2021 All Pro season for the 49ers, Deebo Samuel is in line to win the offensive player of the year award in 2022.

Deebo Samuel was a unicorn in 2021.

What he did to lead the 49ers’ offense on the ground and through the air was simply magical. It is why he was an obvious choice as an All Pro selection.

However, Samuel was shorted in another category to honor players and that honor was the Offensive Player of the Year award. The issue isn’t that Samuel didn’t win it. Cooper Kupp winning it is fair, but the fact that Samuel couldn’t even get a vote is wild. The award came down to just Kupp and Johnathan Taylor of the Colts. A little bit of a hosing here for Samuel given that he was the entire offense for the 49ers.

2022 is primed to be different and actually see Samuel get a legitimate chance at winning it. DraftKings sportsbook has Samuel one of the favorites with the third-best odds to win the Offensive Player of the Year award at +1000. Samuel only trails Kupp (+800) and Taylor (+850) with better odds and also tied with Titans running back Derrick Henry. 

Looks like now that the 2021 season in the books, along with an NFC championship appearance and multiple accolades, that Samuel is going to be in the running for the award. It is only right that he is one of the favorites to win it. 

In fact, +1000 is pretty sweet odds for him. The only real concern here is if he will actually be a wide receiver exclusively. That will certainly hurt his chances at winning the award since his peak value and impact is as “wide back” for the 49ers.

It wouldn’t be impossible for Samuel to win it as a receiver alone. He did have about 1,000 receiving yards midway into the season, which is incredible. And now that he has a quarterback in Trey Lance with significantly better physical traits, Samuel can look even better as a receiver.

Would you take the bet on Samuel winning the offensive player of the year award this season?