Why Deebo Samuel is the 49ers reciever to own in fantasy football

There has not been a worthy wide receiver on the San Francisco 49ers to draft in fantasy football over the last few years. Rookie Deebo Samuel will finally be the player that breaks that cycle.

It has been quite some time since the San Francisco 49ers have had a legitimate threat at wide receiver. The last time there was someone impactful at the position was Anquan Boldin. Since then there hasn’t been anyone worth mentioning, especially when it comes to fantasy football. 49ers wide receivers were not being considered for any draft selection. However, that should finally change this year in 2019 with rookie wide receiver Deebo Samuel.

Samuel was arguably the best wide receiver in the 2019 draft class. His strongest trait is his YAC (yards after catch). All the 49ers have to do is get the ball quickly into his hands and let him work. Expect a lot of short to intermediate routes in high volumes, which is perfect for PPR leagues. Samuel is capable of selling a route too. How he operates running routes, like a double move, is so fluid.

He’s an elusive player, which is why he excels with double moves, with the potential to take any possession to the house. Just look at what he has done thus far through two preseason games. One deep pass play against the Cowboys where he totally punks the corner. The other is his end around run that almost went for a touchdown. What doesn’t get mentioned too often about him is that he’s a versatile player that will be swung around in formations.

The opportunities in games will come plenty and many of them will be for big gains. Anytime you can get a talent like him where you can plug and play almost anywhere you feed them the ball. Those opportunities will create mismatches because of the confusing looks. With all due respect to Dante Pettis, Deebo Samuel is the best wideout on the San Francisco 49ers. There should be no debate as to which 49ers receiver you draft first.

Tight end George Kittle will obviously be a top pick. The next best 49er to target is Samuel. He may not crash into the scene early on, but I would at least expect him to start raising eye brows after the first few games. I wouldn’t recommend drafting Deebo Samuel within the first few rounds, but depending on how your draft goes. He wouldn’t be a bad midround sleeper. Put Deebo Samuel on your draft board and draft him when the value is there.