Deebo Samuel Fantasy Outlook Remains Solid Heading into Week 12 Matchup With Packers

Deebo Samuel played a surprisingly small role in the San Francisco 49ers' offense early in the year. They played the 36th-overall pick from the 2019 Draft for 88 percent of the offensive snaps in Week 1, but then he didn't hit even 70 percent again through Week 9.

Things have picked up in a big way over the last two weeks though, playing 84 percent and 79 percent while tallying a combined 21 targets.

With tight end George Kittle and recently-acquired WR Emmanuel Sanders banged up, Samuel has exploded for an average of 8.0 receptions and 123.0 yards (20.3 PPR fantasy points) per game during that span.

There's no update yet on Kittle, but Sanders aggravated his rib injury in Week 11, and the 49ers may choose to take a more cautious approach with him this week.

If both Kittle and Sanders return it would be a significant blow to Samuel's fantasy outlook, as he played just 64 percent of the snaps in Week 9 (Sanders' last full game, in which Kittle also played), and SF's offense isn't usually pass-heavy enough to support three fantasy-relevant receiving options.

Accounting for Kittle playing but Sanders sitting out, Samuel sits at WR32 in our Week 12 PPR fantasy football rankings ahead of a tough matchup against a Green Bay Packers' defense that's allowing the 11th-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing wideouts.

Keep an eye on the 49ers injury report though, because Samuel could either get a big boost (if both Kittle and Sanders sit) or a big downgrade (if both play) later in the week.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.