Deebo Samuel Injury Update Clouds Fantasy Outlook for Week 8
By Max Staley

Updated (9:50 a.m. EST, Tuesday Oct. 27): San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed Deebo Samuel will be out in Week 8, and he'll 'most likely' be sidelined in Week 9 as well. This news makes Brandon Aiyuk a must-add player as he'll be on the WR2 radar while Samuel is on the shelf.
#49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said WR Deebo Samuel (hamstring strain) will be out this week and most likely against Green Bay also and RB Jeff Wilson Jr. (ankle) will go to injured reserve later this week.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 26, 2020
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel has been ruled out of the team's Week 7 game due to a hamstring injury. Deebo was on his way to a nice day before exiting early in the fourth quarter, turning 8 touches into 72 yards from scrimmage against the New England Patriots.
There's nothing concrete about his status for Week 8 quite yet, but getting ruled out early with an injury is rarely a good sign.
Deebo Samuel (hamstring) and Jeff Wilson (ankle) have been ruled out for rest of today’s game.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 25, 2020
Deebo Samuel Fantasy Outlook
Of course, the decision to pull him could've been entirely precautionary. The 49ers were winning, 30-6, when Samuel was pulled from the game.
His fantasy managers would surely love him to be active in Week 8, though, as San Francisco takes on the Seattle Seahawks. Entering Week 7, Seattle was surrendering a league-high 370.4 passing yards per game, and the Seahawks were also allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers.
If Samuel can suit up, this would be a potential blowup spot for the 49ers' wide receiver.
Brandon Aiyuk Fantasy Outlook
If Samuel can't go, however, Aiyuk could find himself in the WR2 conversation. As mentioned above, a matchup with Seattle has been a goldmine for fantasy wide receivers. The Seahawks were surrendering a whopping 60.0 PPR points per game to opposing wideouts.
For reference, the Cleveland Browns are the second-worst team in that category, giving up 48.7 points per game.
Aiyuk just had one of his best games of the season in Week 7, turning 7 targets into 6 catches for 115 yards. Looking at a potentially significant uptick in volume, Aiyuk would become a must-start WR if Deebo can't play.
It'll be important to monitor Samuel's status throughout the week.
Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. 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.