Deebo Samuel fantasy outlook: Is 49ers WR a good pick in 2023?

Deebo Samuel, thanks to his unique ability to line up out wide or in the backfield, has become a fantasy darling over the last couple of seasons. He can score a 50 yard receiving touchdown as well as a 40 yard rushing touchdown- sometimes in the same game.

He has tremendous upside, perhaps more so than anyone else in the NFL. He could end up being one of the top wide receivers, even if he's not drafted like that. There is some risk involved, though.

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Deebo Samuel's fantasy outlook in 2023

The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of mouths to feed. That's a great problem for an NFL team to have, but it's less than enviable for anyone looking to draft one of their players in fantasy.

Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle both feature heavily in the passing game alongside Samuel. So does Brandon Aiyuk. There are legitimately four targets in the passing game to consider, and two of them can easily be higher priority one game than Samuel.

He also lines up in the backfield sometimes, but he's not going to take too many carries away from McCaffrey. All of this matters to a fantasy manager looking to draft any 49er, especially Samuel.

On any given Sunday, Kittle could have 30 points in the passing game, as could Samuel, and Aiyuk. There's a good bit of boom or bust potential with Samuel, something that carries a lot of risk for fantasy managers.

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Where should you draft Deebo Samuel in fantasy?

Nevertheless, the upside is there. Ideally, fantasy managers wouldn't want this, but a 30-point week followed by a 10-point week is still a 20-point average. Over the NFL season, he'll be a good player.

Where should I take Deebo Samuel?

Overall, Deebo Samuel is being drafted around the 38th pick and going as the 14th wide receiver, which is right around DK Metcalf and Chris Olave. Those players might be a little safer in that range.

If Samuel slides to the fourth round and further, he should be snapped up quickly. He's still one of the most dynamic and explosive players in the NFL, and he's worth a draft pick anywhere in that range.

If the run on wide receivers extends and there aren't many options, then you may want to consider those other options that are clear cut top targets in their offense. They'll likely be the top target from week to week, whereas that's not a given for Samuel.