After a pretty underwhelming 2024 season that was derailed by injuries and inconsistency, the 49ers shipped Deebo Samuel to the Commanders this offseason for a fifth-round pick. Washington, desperate for a legit WR2 to pair with Terry McLaurin, happily took the gamble.
Fresh off an NFC Championship appearance, the Commanders are going all-in around second-year star quarterback Jayden Daniels — and adding a weapon like Samuel is a clear signal of intent.
But heading into Week 1 against what could be a sneaky-tough Giants defense, the real question is: Do you start Samuel in fantasy?
Start or sit Deebo Samuel in Week 1?
As mentioned above, Samuel had a weird year in 2024. He missed two games — one with a calf strain, the other after being hospitalized with fluid in his lungs and pneumonia-like symptoms. In total, he put up 51 catches for 670 yards and three touchdowns, plus 136 yards and a score on the ground over 42 carries.
Even at 28, he still showed flashes of his old self — most notably a 76-yard bomb against Seattle in Week 6. Now fully healthy and clearly motivated on a Super Bowl-caliber roster, there’s no reason to believe he’s lost a step heading into his age-29 season.
The Giants, meanwhile, were a mess defensively last year — 27th in yards allowed, 26th in points allowed. They did bring in stud EDGE Abdul Carter with the No. 3 overall pick to pair with an already nasty pass rush featuring Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence, and Brian Burns. That front could be a problem, but the secondary is still a major question mark — and they’ll have their hands full trying to contain Jayden Daniels right out of the gate.
As for Samuel, his fantasy outlook quietly got a nice bump a couple of weeks ago when Washington traded Brian Robinson to the 49ers. The Commanders’ backfield is now a complete mess — a four-man rotation that should leave the door wide open for Deebo to get meaningful work around the goal line in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense.
Add in the fact that Washington has one of the highest implied team totals on the slate this week, and Samuel’s upside becomes pretty tough to ignore
The Verdict: Start
With a clean bill of health and a creative play-caller, Samuel is in a prime spot to find paydirt this week.
