Deebo Samuel Week 14 Outlook - 49ers at Saints

By Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros), Thu, Dec 5th 2019, 1:07pm EST

He was the 49ers receiver we felt to have the most value last week but knowing that Sanders is back to his full-time role and seemingly over his rib cartilage issue, Samuel moves down the totem pole a bit. He's still going to be heavily involved in the gameplan, as the Saints may very well be the best run defense in the NFL. Because of that, they've faced an average of 21.7 wide receiver targets per game. They haven't allowed much on a per-target basis, though, as the 1.68 PPR points per target is right around the league average. The real downer in Samuel's projection is that he runs the fewest routes from the slot of the 49ers' receivers, and that's where the Saints have been gashed this season. It means he'll see Marshon Lattimore and Eli Apple for most of the game. There have been just six wide receivers who are primary perimeter players who've finished as a top-30 PPR option against the Saints, and all but one of them saw at least nine targets (Brandin Cooks caught three passes for 74 yards and a touchdown to finish as the WR22). That doesn't give him great odds, leaving him in the high-end WR4 territory this week.