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It looked like San Francisco 49ers mid-season acquisition Emmanuel Sanders was on a fast track to irrelevancy, or at least just a guy who was sometimes worthy of a third spot in your lineup on boom or bust potential alone. Finally, he had one of those BOOM games, two weeks ago against the Saints. Sanders caught seven passes for a whopping 157 yards and a touchdown that day.
The question we’re trying to answer is that just because of the matchups that week? We ask because it looked like rookie Deebo Samuel was emerging as the top wide receiver, or at least the one who was most worthy of a weekly fantasy recommendation. He didn’t have a bad game by any means against New Orleans. He caught five passes on eight targets, finishing the contest with 76 yards.
Yes, you’ll notice we haven’t talked much about last week’s loss to the Falcons. That games looks and feels a lot like an outlier for this crew. Sanders had nine yards, and Samuel had 29, meaning neither player was much of a fantasy force.
Fantasy football analysis, 49ers WRs Deebo Samuel, Emmanuel Sanders
The main thing to know about this offense is that it runs through tight end George Kittle and the running backs. That’s who will usually get most of the work from week to week. The good news for this week’s game against the Rams is that cornerback Jalen Ramsey is likely to get moved around, not sticking on one guy or another.
If that’s the case, Sanders might be a slightly better option. He’s had the edge over Samuel in targets over the last three weeks. Neither one feels like a big play for you, though.
Sit/start advice
Sit both of them. It’s too volatile, and you can find better options for a third receiver spot.