Whirlwind week in San Francisco. Christian Kirk with a calf injury, De'Zhaun Stribling impressing in practices -- and those were just the preliminaries. Things got crazier by midweek.
First we had Ricky Pearsall, the supposed No. 2 wideout, experiencing knee soreness related to last year's PCL injury. A day later the team was bringing back former star Deebo Samuel, which can best be described as Not Good for Pearsall's chances of having a breakout season. Surgery is on the table for the youngster, making it look like he'll be on the shelf.
Yesterday the team signed Deebo Samuel. Samuel was with Washington last year, but his excellence came with the 49ers: an All-Pro in 2021 and an 1,100 yard player in 2023. The contract is worth up to $7 million -- more than Kirk, but about half what Mike Evans will make this year.
Deebo is a banged-up 30-year-old, who somehow is flawed enough that even Washington wasn't interested in bringing him back. Or maybe he didn't want to go back there; who knows. If we accept that Deebo isn't the Pro Bowl version, what can reasonably be expected?
Looking at the last two seasons -- his final year in San Francisco, and his year in Washington -- I think we still have a useful player. Let's not draft him too high on that former resume or name recognition, but let's not rule out a sometime starter.
On a per-game basis the last two years, Samuel averaged 52 total yards, and with 10 TDs in 31 contests; a score about once every three games. That's top-40 production (PPR), among all wide receivers to appear in at least 20 games those years.
| WIDE RECEIVERS PER GAME (MIN 20 STARTS), 2024-2025 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | Run | TD | PPR |
| Ja'Marr Chase, Cin. | 33 | 7.6 | 94.5 | 1.4 | .76 | 21.8 |
| Puka Nacua, LAR | 27 | 7.7 | 100.2 | 5.5 | .56 | 21.6 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown, Det. | 34 | 6.8 | 78.4 | .4 | .68 | 18.8 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sea. | 34 | 6.4 | 86.0 | 1.8 | .47 | 18.0 |
| Drake London, Atl. | 29 | 5.8 | 75.5 | -.1 | .56 | 16.7 |
| Davante Adams, LAR | 28 | 5.2 | 66.1 | .0 | .80 | 16.6 |
| Tee Higgins, Cin. | 27 | 4.9 | 65.1 | 2.2 | .79 | 16.4 |
| Nico Collins, Hou. | 27 | 5.1 | 78.6 | .6 | .53 | 16.3 |
| CeeDee Lamb, Dall. | 29 | 6.1 | 78.3 | 2.5 | .32 | 16.1 |
| A.J. Brown, Phi. | 28 | 5.2 | 74.4 | .0 | .50 | 15.6 |
| Justin Jefferson, Min. | 34 | 5.5 | 75.9 | .3 | .35 | 15.2 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 22 | 4.7 | 62.4 | 3.0 | .64 | 15.1 |
| Garrett Wilson, NYJ | 24 | 5.7 | 62.5 | .2 | .47 | 14.8 |
| George Pickens, Dall. | 31 | 4.9 | 75.1 | -.2 | .39 | 14.7 |
| Chris Olave, N.O. | 24 | 5.5 | 65.1 | .2 | .42 | 14.5 |
| Terry McLaurin, Was. | 27 | 4.4 | 62.1 | .1 | .59 | 14.2 |
| Brian Thomas, Jac. | 31 | 4.4 | 64.2 | 2.2 | .44 | 13.6 |
| Jameson Williams, Det. | 32 | 3.8 | 66.2 | 2.3 | .47 | 13.5 |
| Zay Flowers, Balt. | 34 | 4.7 | 66.8 | 3.5 | .29 | 13.5 |
| Courtland Sutton, Den. | 34 | 4.6 | 61.7 | .0 | .45 | 13.4 |
| DeVonta Smith, Phi. | 30 | 4.8 | 61.4 | .0 | .40 | 13.4 |
| Stefon Diggs, N.E. | 25 | 5.3 | 60.4 | .3 | .32 | 13.3 |
| Ladd McConkey, LAC | 32 | 4.6 | 60.6 | .0 | .42 | 13.2 |
| Jauan Jennings, S.F. | 30 | 4.4 | 53.9 | 1.2 | .51 | 13.0 |
| Jakobi Meyers, 2tms | 30 | 5.3 | 60.7 | 1.2 | .24 | 13.0 |
| Tyreek Hill, Mia. | 21 | 4.9 | 58.3 | 2.5 | .33 | 12.9 |
| DK Metcalf, Pitt. | 30 | 4.2 | 61.4 | .4 | .40 | 12.7 |
| Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG | 33 | 5.6 | 51.9 | .7 | .21 | 12.1 |
| DJ Moore, Chi. | 34 | 4.4 | 48.5 | 4.5 | .41 | 12.1 |
| Quentin Johnston, LAC | 29 | 3.7 | 49.9 | .4 | .55 | 12.0 |
| Jordan Addison, Min. | 29 | 3.6 | 51.2 | 3.5 | .48 | 12.0 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 32 | 4.7 | 47.5 | .0 | .34 | 11.5 |
| Khalil Shakir, Buff. | 31 | 4.8 | 49.7 | .3 | .26 | 11.3 |
| Marvin Harrison, Ari. | 29 | 3.6 | 51.5 | .0 | .43 | 11.3 |
| Parker Washington, Jac. | 21 | 3.6 | 50.0 | .0 | .44 | 11.2 |
| Michael Pittman, Ind. | 33 | 4.5 | 48.2 | .0 | .31 | 11.2 |
| Alec Pierce, Ind. | 31 | 2.7 | 58.9 | .0 | .42 | 11.1 |
| Deebo Samuel, 2tms | 31 | 4.0 | 45.1 | 6.8 | .32 | 11.1 |
| Jaylen Waddle, Mia. | 31 | 3.9 | 53.4 | 1.3 | .28 | 11.1 |
| Josh Downs, Ind. | 30 | 4.3 | 45.6 | .3 | .30 | 10.7 |
| Jerry Jeudy, Cle. | 34 | 4.1 | 53.9 | .1 | .20 | 10.7 |
| Cooper Kupp, Sea. | 28 | 4.1 | 46.5 | .4 | .30 | 10.5 |
| Michael Wilson, Ari. | 33 | 3.8 | 47.1 | .2 | .33 | 10.5 |
| Calvin Ridley, Ten. | 24 | 3.4 | 55.0 | 2.3 | .21 | 10.4 |
| Jayden Reed, G.B. | 24 | 3.1 | 44.3 | 8.0 | .33 | 10.3 |
| Romeo Doubs, G.B. | 29 | 3.5 | 45.7 | .0 | .37 | 10.3 |
| Rome Odunze, Chi. | 29 | 3.4 | 48.1 | .5 | .31 | 10.1 |
| Rashid Shaheed, 2tms | 24 | 3.3 | 43.2 | 4.1 | .33 | 10.0 |
| Xavier Worthy, K.C. | 30 | 3.4 | 39.0 | 6.4 | .33 | 9.9 |
This is a bit of a downer for those excited about Stribling. (And Pearsall, obviously.) Deebo isn't coming back just to sprinkle on for a few plays. Maybe Stribling starts over him, but it's definitely going to be a three-wide receiver mix.
The plus side, if you believe Stribling has the potential to put up better season-long numbers (I do), is that he'll now be a little cheaper in drafts. There will be some drafting Samuel as a No. 2, and I think that's too optimistic. But all three (with Evans the No. 1) should have some value.
--Andy Richardson
