Deebo Samuel to San Francisco: What Can He Add to the 49ers' Offense?

With the 36th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected Deebo Samuel, making him the third wide receiver off the board in a deep draft class.

While Samuel comes with a few concerns, namely injury history, San Francisco presents a clear path to playing time with only Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin on the depth chart. Early rumblings are that Samuel will start opposite Pettis.

Samuel's Background

Despite leaving college without a 1,000-yard season on his profile, Samuel enters the league as one of the most pro-ready prospects in the class.

In the context of South Carolina's offense, Samuel's dominator rating ranked in the 42nd-percentile, according to PlayerProfiler, which is a slight red flag. Samuel's injury history includes hamstring injuries as a freshman and a broken leg as a junior.

Known as one of the better route-runners in this class, Samuel excelled at the NFL Combine. At 5'11" and 214 pounds, Samuel ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, putting him in the 79th-percentile when adjusting for height and weight.

What to Expect

Ultimately, Samuel should get an opportunity to squash all concerns quickly with San Francisco's wide open receiver depth chart. Capable of playing in and out of the slot, Samuel provides a direct complement to sophomore Dante Pettis and should allow Goodwin to return more to a part-time player to increase his effectiveness.

numberFire's editor-in-chief, JJ Zachariason, initially projects Samuel for 79.6 targets, 54.1 receptions, 652.9 yards, and 3.4 touchdowns as a rookie.