5 most explosive players on 49ers offense entering 2021

49ers Explosive Player No. 4: Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel

Unlike Trey Lance, who’ll likely be featured on special packages only, at least to start the season, third-year wide receiver Deebo Samuel certainly should get a good body of work in over the course of 2021.

In games he played last year, Samuel was targeted 25 percent of all pass attempts, meaning there shouldn’t be any sort of attention in his direction.

True, Samuel coming off a year in which both foot and hamstring injuries limited him to only seven games is a bit of a concern. But the same worries could essentially be applied to nearly all of the 49ers starters on offense this year.

If Samuel stays healthy, look for the 2019 version of his explosiveness to take over.

Samuel has that blend of speed and physicality, serving as both a serious pass-catching threat and versatile rusher on the ground. Kyle Shanahan’s deployment of Samuel as a ball-carrier on jet sweeps and end-arounds is no longer a secret, but Samuel continuing to pick up chunk yards on such plays is a statement to how he’s more of an “offensive weapon” than a pure wideout.

One should hope Samuel looks more like his 2019 version where he amassed 961 yards from scrimmage and six touchdowns rather than what happened a year ago amid his injuries.