49ers WR Deebo Samuel must avoid sophomore slump

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Deebo Samuel #19 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Projected role, impact for 49ers in 2020

Deebo Samuel is the No. 1 wide receiver for San Francisco. There’s no getting around that. And unless Brandon Aiyuk somehow takes this spot over in short time, that’ll be the case throughout the entirety of 2020.

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Overlooking the health aspect for a moment, one can reason Samuel’s impact on the Niners offense this season will be pretty exceptional. Those end-around rushing routes were entertaining enough, and Samuel has already proven to be a scoring threat anytime he gets the ball in his hand.

And from anywhere on the field, too.

Samuel’s physicality and prowess have put him into contention for one of those league-wide WR1 classification tiers, which is great news as long as he stays healthy.

That’s where the primary problem resides, of course. The lack of a training camp could mean Samuel’s recovery stretches too far into the regular season, cutting into the total number of yards and touchdowns he otherwise might have gained if he stayed healthy during the offseason.

Yet if the 49ers are pegged as a playoff lock and Super Bowl contender, those regular-season stats won’t mean anywhere near as much if Samuel is fully healthy and contributing for the team’s postseason run.

Early 49ers 53-man roster predictions, training camp edition. dark. Next

He did so last season and should be expected to do so again.