What It Means:

Samuel is undergoing surgery Thursday to repair what Rapoport says is a Jones fracture. That timeline means Samuel will miss the beginning of the season if the schedule remains as is. There's a decent chance he opens the year on the reserve/PUP list, which would cost him the first six games. Samuel emerged as the 49ers' number-one wide receiver as a rookie, so this creates opportunities for the entire depth chart. First-round pick Brandon Aiyuk figures to benefit the most, followed by Kendrick Bourne and 2019 third-rounder Jalen Hurd. The injury may also open up snaps for Trent Taylor and/or Richie James. Dante Pettis could even come back from the fantasy graveyard. Samuel averaged 5.4 targets and nearly a rush attempt per game as a rookie. He added the fifth-most yards after catch (473) among all wideouts last year and ranked 10th in yards per target (9.9) out of 79 receivers with at least 50 targets.

Prior to this report, Samuel was the WR28 in numberFire's preseason fantasy rankings. Our 16-game models project him for 92.7 targets, 60.5 receptions, 809.0 yards, and 5.1 touchdowns. He's also expected to add another 115.9 rushing yards and 1.2 scores.