Fantasy Football Week 1 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: Blake Corum vs Deebo Samuel

Going over who is the better FLEX play in fantasy football lineups between Los Angeles Rams RB Blake Corum and San Francisco 49ers WR Deebo Samuel.

Sep 10, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum (24) during practice at Marvel Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Two fantasy players who are in the conversation as borderline starts and are playing in the Week 1 Thursday night matchup between the San Fransciso 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams are WR Deebo Samuel and RB Blake Corum. Here is a breakdown of who is the better option to be in a fantasy manager's FLEX position for Week 1.

Blake Corum

Jan 25, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum (22) runs against the Seattle Seahawks during the first half in the 2026 NFC Championship Game at Lumen Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Corum is coming off the best season of his young two-year NFL career. In 2025, he had 746 rushing yards and six TDs. With his workload taking a major jump from 2024 to 2025–48 carries in 2024 and 145 in 2025–it seems he could see a further boost in volume in his third season in the league.

“I don't think it's by mistake that he comes in and has an amazing year last year. The way that he approaches it, I'd be surprised if he does anything other than get better and impact the team in a positive way," McVay said regarding Corum. “He's a stud, and he's going to be a big factor in what we're going to do this year and love everything he's about."

The lead RB for the Rams again in 2025 will be Kyren Williams. He has shown no signs of wearing down and opening a window for Corum to become the Rams' RB1. Last season, Williams had 1,252 rushing yards, his third consecutive season with over 1,100 rushing yards. Even with him having a hold of the lead role in 2025, Corum still found the volume to have good fantasy outings.  He had a stretch of three consecutive games with over 70 yards and a TD.

The 49ers will be a decently tough opponent for Corum to have fantasy success. In 2025, they allowed the 12th fewest rushing yards per game. They did, however, allow the 10th most PPR fantasy points to RBs.

Corum did play against the Rams twice last year and did not perform well fantasy-wise. In the first game, he had one carry for 13 yards, and in his second game he had 13 carries for 56 yards. He did not have a reception in either of the games.

Deebo Samuel

Aug 20, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel (19) during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With the season-ending injury to WR Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco was in need of more WR depth, and they went and got a guy who is more than familiar with their system: Samuel. In 2025, Samuel played his first season not on the 49ers,  with the Washington Commanders, and he had a solid season. Samuel had 727 receiving yards and five TDs. Now back with the 49ers, he will be their WR2 unless rookie De’Zhaun Stribling eventually proves that he deserves that role.

Los Angeles was not the best passing defense in 2025, but should improve drastically with the additions of  CBs Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. Last season, they allowed the 11th most passing yards per game and the 10th most PPR fantasy points to WRs. 

Final Verdict

When it comes to who should start and who should sit in fantasy between Samuel and Corum, Samuel should start, and Corum should sit.

While Corum’s outlook continually improves in fantasy, it is not enough to warrant him starting over the volume WR2 Samuel will be getting in terms of snaps. That could change, but for now Samuel is the better and safer play between the two in  Week 1.