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Dynasty Leagues

Long-term WRs

Is Deebo Samuel washed?

What do we make of Deebo Samuel? He’s been pretty awful this year. Is he just done as an elite wide receiver?

He’s averaging over a catch per game less than unheralded teammate Jauan Jennings (a former seventh-round pick who doesn’t have the kind of speed most teams are looking for). Samuel has averaged only 3.6 catches for 47 yards in his 12 full games. His one touchdown came on a coverage bust at Seattle.

He was chirping on Twitter early in the week, so they made an extra effort to get him the ball on Thursday, but it didn’t work. The 7 passes thrown his way resulted in 3 catches for 16 yards, with a drop of a slant that might have gone for a touchdown.

Samuel looks a little slow and heavy to me. I looked up some of his 2021 highlights on YouTube, but I didn’t find anything that clearly shows he was lighter and more athletic at the time.

I wonder if he’s aged more quickly, given that he’s the most physical receiver in the league. They use him a lot on slant patterns, creating lots of collisions with defensive backs, and he’s also run for 1,102 yards. He’ll be 29 in a month.

If I were in a dynasty draft today, I would be torn between picking Samuel and Jennings. Jennings is better right now, but Samuel probably has more potential to maybe bounce back with one more top-25 season. (The 49ers will also have Brandon Aiyuk back next year, and I like him better than both Samuel and Jennings.) San Francisco potentially could look to move on from Samuel in the offseason, but he’ll be playing somewhere.

I turn my attention to dynasty leagues each Saturday during the season, rotating between the four notable positions. I’m assuming PPR scoring, with teams holding the rights to players indefinitely. In this kind of format, I’m trending towards building around younger players.

To see the most recent rankings for other positions, use the navigation tools on this page.

Last week: Quarterbacks

Next week: Tight ends

DYNASTY WIDE RECEIVERS
RkTmPlayerAge
1.CINJa'Marr Chase24.8
2.MINJustin Jefferson25.5
3.NYG• Malik Nabers21.4
4.DALCeeDee Lamb25.7
5.DETAmon-Ra St. Brown25.1
6.HOUNico Collins25.7
7.LARPuka Nacua23.5
8.ARI• Marvin Harrison22.3
9.SEAJaxon Smith-Njigba22.8
10.NYJGarrett Wilson24.4
11.JAC• Brian Thomas22.2
12.ATLDrake London23.4
13.PHIA.J. Brown27.5
14.PITGeorge Pickens23.8
15.WASTerry McLaurin29.2
16.SEADK Metcalf27.0
17.PHIDeVonta Smith26.1
18.KCRashee Rice24.6
19.GBJayden Reed24.6
20.CHIDJ Moore27.7
21.MINJordan Addison22.9
22.BALZay Flowers24.3
23.LAC• Ladd McConkey22.1
24.CHI• Rome Odunze22.5
25.KC• Xavier Worthy21.6
26.CLEJerry Jeudy25.6
27.MIAJaylen Waddle26.1
28.CINTee Higgins25.9
29.BUF• Keon Coleman21.6
30.BUFKhalil Shakir24.9
31.SFBrandon Aiyuk26.7
32.CAR• Xavier Legette23.9
33.INDJosh Downs23.3
34.GBChristian Watson25.6
35.MIATyreek Hill30.8
36.ATLDarnell Mooney27.1
37.DENCourtland Sutton29.2
38.TBChris Godwin28.8
39.NOChris Olave24.5
40.INDMichael Pittman27.2
41.TENCalvin Ridley30.0
42.DETJameson Williams23.7
43.LVJakobi Meyers28.1
44.GBRomeo Doubs24.7
45.HOUTank Dell25.1
46.BALRashod Bateman25.0
47.SFDeebo Samuel28.9
48.TBMike Evans31.3
49.BUFAmari Cooper30.5
50.LACQuentin Johnston23.3
51.LARCooper Kupp31.5
52.SFJauan Jennings27.4
53.CIN• Jermaine Burton23.5
54.NEDeMario Douglas24.0
55.ARIMichael Wilson24.8
56.DEN• Devaughn Vele27.0
57.NYJDavante Adams32.0
58.TB• Jalen McMillan23.0
59.IND• Adonai Mitchell22.2
60.DENMarvin Mims22.7
61.NYGWan'Dale Robinson23.9
62.SF• Ricky Pearsall24.3
63.TENNick Westbrook-Ikhine27.7
64.KCDeAndre Hopkins32.5
65.CLECedric Tillman24.7
66.HOUStefon Diggs31.0
67.BALDiontae Johnson28.4
68.CAR• Jalen Coker23.1
69.GBDontayvion Wicks23.5
70.NORashid Shaheed26.3
71.JACChristian Kirk28.1
72.INDAlec Pierce24.6
73.NE• Ja'Lynn Polk22.7
74.PITCalvin Austin25.7
75.CHIKeenan Allen32.6
76.DALJalen Tolbert25.8
77.NEKayshon Boutte22.6
78.MIA• Malik Washington23.9
79.CLEElijah Moore24.7
80.LACJoshua Palmer25.2

—Ian Allan

Fantasy Index