SEPTEMBER 28: Deebo Samuel plans to play on Sunday vs. the Patriots, per NFL Insider Jordan Schultz.
Now that Brock Purdy ($6,100) has his top target back, expect a return to form for the 49ers offense. Samuel ($7,000) isn’t a cheap DFS play, but he can do damage against a New England secondary giving up the sixth-most DK fantasy points to wide receivers. Despite his big game last week, Jauan Jennings ($5,600) likely takes a hit in production with Samuel and George Kittle ($5,500) back in the lineup.
After an impressive 32-19 victory over the New York Jets in Week 1, the route from the US-101 to I-580 E to I-5 S to I-210 E to I-10 E looked to be unobstructed for the San Francisco 49ers, even with their star running back shelved. But then they traveled to Minnesota and got Skol’d and let a depleted Rams team come back from a 14-point deficit to get the win. Both Deebo Samuel and George Kittle missed that contest.
While they received word that Christian McCaffrey may be out for longer than the initial four-week Injured Reserve stint, reinforcements may be on the way to help turn the frowns upside down and get back to the winning ways.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel (calf) returned to practice on Thursday. He’s officially listed as questionable but could play against the New England Patriots. Samuel is obviously an important offensive weapon for the 49ers due to his versatility. He can run from out of the backfield or on jet sweeps. He’s also a YAC beast in the passing game. That said, the 49ers are favored by a whopping 10.5 points and San Francisco plays two division rivals in the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks in weeks five and six then host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7.
The 49ers may give Samuel an extra week off for that three-game stretch, especially since Jauan Jennings proved more than capable of filling in. In addition, Samuel is much better against zone defenses and the Patriots are one of the most man-heavy defenses in the league.
Tight end George Kittle (hamstring) is off the injury report and is good to go. Kittle is always a threat in the passing game and has massive spike weeks, but he’s also not the most consistent, especially since he’s such a good blocker. While he should make the passing game more potent, his return should most positively benefit Jordan Mason. Last season, the 49ers averaged 5.0 YPC with a success rate of 49.5% with Kittle on the field. When he was off, the YPC plummeted to 3.7 and the success rate was only 36.1%.
Quarterback Brock Purdy (back) had soreness on Monday, but a MRI revealed nothing. He has been a full participant in practices and is not on the injury report.
Left tackle Trent Williams (toe/illness) missed Wednesday’s practice but did return for the Thursday and Friday sessions. He is officially questionable. The lineman is crucial for what the 49ers want to do in both the rush and pass games. Without him last season, the YPC in the run game was 5.1 vs. 3.2 while the success rate was 48.8% vs. 38.5%. In the pass game, Purdy threw three touchdowns and nine interceptions without Williams and 28 touchdowns with two interceptions with him in the lineup.
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