Deebo Samuel is a different player now than he was at the beginning of the season. As they’ve started using him more as a runner, his role in the passing game has declined.
It’s not surprising. He can’t be everywhere at once. And while he’s a physical, sturdy player, there’s only so much that can be put on any one player’s plate. But the drop in receiving production has been pretty severe.
Samuel in the first half of the season was ripping it up pretty good purely as a wide receiver. He carried the ball only 6 times for 22 yards in his first eight games. But he caught 49 passes for 882 yards and 4 TDs in those games. He averaged 10.1 targets in those games, averaging 6.1 catches for 110 yards per week.
It was in the Monday night win over the Rams that the 49ers started turning Samuel into more of a hybrid player. Since that time, carried 63 times for 415 yards and 8 TDs. Not 8 TDs total, but 8 rushing touchdowns. He’s averaged 7 carries for 46 rushing yards in his last nine games.
As those rushing numbers have zoomed up, however, he’s not getting the ball as often as a wide receiver. He’s caught only 31 passes for 561 yards and 2 TDs in his last nine games. That averages out to 3.4 catches for 62 yards per week. That production comes on 4.8 targets per week – less than half what he was seeing in the first half of the season.
No doubt the 49ers will be looking to get the ball in Samuel’s hands often today, and he’ll be key to their hopes of trying to take down the Packers.
| DEEBO: FIRST EIGHT GAMES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Result | Receiving | Rushing | Yds | TD |
| at Det. | W 41-33 | 9-189-1 | 0-0-0 | 189 | 1 |
| at Phil. | W 17-11 | 6-93-0 | 2-8-0 | 101 | 0 |
| G.B. | L 28-30 | 5-52-0 | 2-0-0 | 52 | 0 |
| Sea. | L 21-28 | 8-156-2 | 1-1-0 | 157 | 2 |
| at Ariz. | L 10-17 | 3-58-0 | 1-13-1 | 71 | 1 |
| Ind. | L 18-30 | 7-100-1 | 0-0-0 | 100 | 1 |
| at Chi. | W 33-22 | 6-171-0 | 0-0-0 | 171 | 0 |
| Ariz. | L 17-31 | 5-63-0 | 0-0-0 | 63 | 0 |
| DEEBO: LAST NINE GAMES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opp | Result | Receiving | Rushing | Yds | TD |
| LAR | W 31-10 | 5-97-1 | 5-36-1 | 133 | 2 |
| at Jac. | W 30-10 | 1-15-0 | 8-79-1 | 94 | 1 |
| Min. | W 34-26 | 1-12-0 | 6-66-2 | 78 | 2 |
| at Cin. | W 26-23 | 1-22-0 | 8-37-1 | 59 | 1 |
| Atl. | W 31-13 | 4-60-0 | 6-29-1 | 89 | 1 |
| at Ten. | L 17-20 | 9-159-0 | 5-32-0 | 191 | 0 |
| Hou. | W 23-7 | 3-63-1 | 7-19-0 | 82 | 1 |
| at LAR | W 27-24 | 4-95-0 | 8-45-1 | 140 | 1 |
| at Dall. | W 23-17 | 3-38-0 | 10-72-1 | 110 | 1 |
—Ian Allan