What It Means:

During a radio appearance on Tuesday, Lynch stated that "it's fair to say he (Deebo) might miss some games at the beginning of the year". Samuel suffered a Jones fracture on June 16th and underwent surgery in an effort to be ready for the start of the season. His original timetable for recovery was 10 to 12 weeks, with the understanding that the 49ers may take a little longer to activate him in order to avoid the same re-injury that Trent Taylor suffered last year. This report meshes with that line of thought and hints at Deebo being unavailable for the start of the season. numberFire's projections expect Samuel to miss six games, creating an opportunity for a combination of Jalen Hurd, Trent Taylor, Kendrick Bourne, and first-rounder Brandon Aiyuk to emerge at wide receiver.

Samuel is the WR68 in our preseason fantasy rankings. His projection includes 40.6 receptions (62.2 targets) for 535.7 yards and 3.3 touchdowns.