Deebo Samuel‘s season has been a far cry from 2021’s breakout year. Though he has played in all but one game this year, he has finished as a WR2 or higher only three times. San Francisco hosts New Orleans for a matchup that should favor the Niners with whatever weapons they’d like to deploy. Samuel was limited in practice and carries the questionable tag heading into game day, and fantasy managers will need to have a backup available given the game’s late start. Will Deebo Samuel play in Week 12? Here’s what we know.
Check out all of our weekly fantasy football content 
Deebo Samuel (hamstring) questionable for Week 12
Deebo Samuel (hamstring) is officially listed as questionable to play against the Saints on Sunday.
Fantasy Impact
Samuel was limited in practice this week, and we likely won’t have any more clarity on his status until Sunday morning. If he plays, he should be started as a steady WR2 option in most leagues.
Check out our NFL News Desk for the latest injury news
What the Experts Are Saying
Samuel is the WR17 in fantasy with a 26.6% target share (13th), 30.3% target per route run rate (ninth), and nine red zone targets (22nd). He’s still operating in his short-area role with a 4.6 aDOT (96th) as he ranks fifth in yards after the catch. Samuel is a WR2 that will have some volatility, considering the low aDOT role he’s in and the 49ers limited passing volume.
-Derek Brown
TBD. Lean towards playing. Based on his practice progression, SportsMedAnalytics projects 90% of pre-injury productivity if playing. This one needs monitoring, however, because it’s his second hamstring issue this season and therefore carries an elevated (~20-25%) re-injury risk.
-Dr. Deepak Chona
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
