3 second-year 49ers who could make a big jump in 2020
By Peter Panacy
No. 1: 49ers Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel
The first two players on this list have yet to play a snap at the NFL level, and it wouldn’t be a bad argument to quell lofty hopes until proven otherwise.
San Francisco 49ers
Deebo Samuel, however, has already shown his value to San Francisco and the rest of the league.
Despite a sluggish start, Samuel’s second-half numbers were pretty spectacular and eventually resulted in him netting 802 receiving yards on 57 grabs with three touchdowns. Kyle Shanahan’s “positionless” offense also catered to Samuel’s skill set, allowing him to rush for 159 yards and an additional three touchdowns on the ground.
Much of this was due to the Niners boasting another top-tier wideout, Emmanuel Sanders, who left during the offseason to join the New Orleans Saints.
That means Samuel will have to shoulder the load of being Shanahan’s No. 1 wide receiver this season.
And there’s little reason to assume the second-year pro is not up for the challenge.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see Samuel crest what’s turned into an elusive wide receiver plateau, the 1,000-yard mark, for San Francisco in recent seasons. Former Niners wideout Anquan Boldin was the last to reach this mark at the position back in 2014.
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Perhaps Samuel is the next in line, hopefully shattering that plateau in 2020.