49ers roster: Power ranking top 10 offensive players entering Week 7
By Peter Panacy
. Deebo Samuel. 1. player. 42. .
No. 1: 49ers Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel
If one had to name San Francisco’s team MVP six weeks into 2021, it would be difficult to consider anyone else other than Deebo Samuel.
At multiple points already this season, Samuel has been the NFL leader in receiving yards, most recently having 490 after four weeks and being on pace to surpass 2,000 on the year. The 49ers’ Week 6 bye removes Samuel from the top spot in this category, currently held by Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams with 668. But even with the bye week in the rearview mirror, Samuel’s 548 receiving yards over five games played still ranks fifth best among all pass-catchers to this point.
Not bad at all.
True, part of the reason why Samuel has gotten off to a rocket-like start to 2021 is due to Brandon Aiyuk’s drop in targets, and also George Kittle’s injury absence and slow start, albeit to a lesser extent. As a result, though, Samuel has received a lion’s share of the targets this season. And at the current moment, nearly 31 percent of the Niners’ yardage totals have gone through Samuel in one way or another.
It’s hard to tell if that pace is sustainable, of course. But it certainly helps illustrate just how important the third-year pro has been to San Francisco’s offensive output so far.
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