In the last two weeks, Deebo Samuel has crushed his matchups and returned WR1 performances. However, he has left fantasy football managers sweating on his status today. Fantasy managers are hoping Samuel will be able to shake off his injury and play today. Let’s dig into his potential fantasy outlook if he does go today.
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Is Deebo Samuel Going To Play Week 4?
Fantasy managers were alarmed when Samuel went onto the injury report with rib and knee injuries. He did not practice on Wednesday. He also failed to practice on Thursday or Friday this week, which left a gloomy outlook for him playing in Week 4.
However, Adam Schefter of ESPN this morning has provided an update saying it is likely Samuel will play today. Schefter posted, “49ers’ WR Deebo Samuel, listed as questionable for Sunday due to a rib and knee injury, is expected to play vs. the Cardinals barring any pre-game setbacks, per source.”
Therefore, despite not practicing, he is expected to play today. However, what does this mean for Samuel’s fantasy outlook in Week 4?
What Does This Mean for Samuel’s Fantasy Outlook?
Samuel is coming in this week as the WR8 in PPR scoring, averaging 19.5 fantasy points per game. Furthermore, he has back-to-back top-12 fantasy wide receiver finishes over the past two weeks. Samuel will look to make it three in a row against the Arizona Cardinals.
Samuel is currently ranked as the WR13 in our PFN Consensus Rankings. He has the Cardinals this week, who rank 23rd in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. The Cardinals are only giving up 25.6 fantasy points per game.
However, while they are ranked 10th-best in fewest points given up at the position, in the past two weeks, the main offensive weapon on the team they have faced has been their running back.
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While that could be considered the same today, Samuel is someone who can exploit his matchup. He is up against CB Kei’Trel Clark, who is being targeted on almost 19% of the routes run against him. The fact he is being targeted almost 19% of the time shows offensive coordinators in the NFL are not afraid to target Clark as a potential weakness.
It’s also worth noting Samuel is running routes on 92.9% of snaps so far this season, amassing a very good 0.52 fantasy points per route run. Though the Cardinals have not given up a big finish to a wide receiver this season from a fantasy perspective, today should be the day.
The only two things that could cap Samuel’s day from a fantasy perspective, if he is more than fit enough to start, are 1) the game script and 2) the return of Brandon Aiyuk. It is expected that the 49ers will be in a positive game script against the Cardinals for much of this game due to their impressive start and array of offensive weapons.
Also, the return of Aiyuk could see targets being more evenly spread between him and Samuel. However, considering there isn’t huge competition for targets other than perhaps George Kittle, both Aiyuk and Samuel should see a good volume of targets to produce effective performances. After all, Samuel is currently ranked tied for 11th in targets amongst all wide receivers so far this season (28 in three games).
A solid WR2 week with WR1 upside should be in the cards for Samuel, and he should be started at all costs if he is to start today.