Fantasy football: 49ers Deebo Samuel worth a WR2 spot

The 49ers’ Deebo Samuel could be a solid WR2 option in fantasy football this year.

Last season, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel vastly outperformed his late-round average draft position (ADP) in fantasy football drafts. He finished 2019 with a total of 189 fantasy points scored, according to ESPN‘s PPR standard scoring system.

His 189 points were the 31st most among wide receivers last year. This would have made him a solid WR3 in 12-team leagues.

This year, Samuel has an early season ADP of 65.4 or the 26th receiver taken off the board in ESPN live drafts. This puts him into borderline WR2 territory in 12-team fantasy football leagues.

This appears to be a fair market value for the second-year wideout.

Samuel came into his own late in the season, which should not be a surprise for a rookie receiver learning a complex NFL system. A total of 575 of his 802 receiving yards came within the last two months of the year.

He should be able to get off to a much quicker start in his second season under head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense. He will also likely be the No. 2 option on passing plays behind only All-Pro tight end George Kittle.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore is someone who reminds me of Samuel with the aggressive style he plays and the knack for picking up crucial yards after the catch. Last season, Moore broke out with 1,175 yards for a total of 230 fantasy points in his sophomore season. He finished as the No. 16 highest-scoring receiver.

Breaking the 1,000 receiving-yard mark would not be a surprise for the 49ers’ talented young pass catcher in year two.

Fantasy football draft strategy

Most fantasy football experts suggest taking running backs in Rounds 1 and 2. I tend to abide by this simply because there is such a limited amount of true workhorse running backs in today’s NFL. There are, of course, some exceptions that should be made, but this is usually a good framework to follow.

The big problem with going RB-RB in the first two rounds is it can certainly leave you thin at the wide receiver spot, which is widely considered the second most important position in fantasy football.

Also, in most leagues, three WRs are required in your starting weekly lineup.

By going RB-RB, you are not going to be able to get the elite high-scoring WRs like the New Orleans Saints’ Michael Thomas or the Arizona Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins. This means you will have to get some third- and fourth-round wideouts who can hopefully outperform their ADPs.

As mentioned above, Samuel’s current ADP is 65.4, which is in the middle of the fifth round. This means you could draft RB-RB and then WR-WR and still possibly have Samuel available as your team’s WR3. This could give your team a significant edge over others as we have gone over the reasons Samuel should finish inside WR2 territory.

Getting your WR3 to produce WR2-type numbers is exactly how you shorten the points gap between your team and the teams that secure Thomas or Hopkins as its WR1.

Samuel should be valued as a WR2 in 2020 and fantasy football players should take advantage of his current fifth-round ADP.