Deebo

Samuel

Samuel joined Washington in the offseason and operated as the Commanders’ No. 1 wide receiver with Terry McLaurin holding out before the season and dealing with a quad injury during the season. He is primarily a slot receiver that sees rushing opportunities out of the backfield. The 29-year-old finished the year with 72 receptions for 727 yards and five touchdowns, rushing 17 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. He failed to hit 100 yards receiving in any games this season, the first time that has happened in his career. Samuel was off to a fast start with at least six receptions in four out of the first five games of the season, but had only one such game the rest of the way with Jayden Daniels mostly sidelined. He finished the season with a 71.0 PFF receiving grade, good for No. 40 among wide receivers. Samuel is slated to enter free agency in the offseason and will find a role as a veteran slot receiver, whether for the Commanders or another team next season.

Samuel was the primary cog of the offense before the break, turning a short reception into a booming 41-yard, catch-and-run gain to bring the ball to the six on the team’s opening possession. He would add another short catch and 25 yards on two carries in the first half before not seeing a touch after the break. Seemingly a perfect fit for offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s horizontally spread offense, Samuel heads into a Week 18 matchup against the Eagles with a relatively disappointing fantasy showing relative to his draft capital.

Samuel had a 20-yard catch, and then two more short yardage connections. It’s now three-straight contests that he hasn’t reached 50 yards, and he hasn’t found paydirt since November 16. Long story short, fantasy managers need to look elsewhere for Week 17 against the Cowboys in the majority of fantasy leagues, especially if Josh Johnson has to start that contest for Washington.

Samuel was questionable in this contest with an illness, but the lack of targets and yards has more to do with Washington’s gameplan and inability to complete deep passes than his status. He played a somewhat-normal (for him) 60.7 percent of the snaps. The 29-year-old will remain a WR3 at best for Week 16 against the Eagles on Saturday.

As expected, Samuel is active even while dealing with an illness that showed up on the injury report Friday. He should see a good amount of targets, but this Washington passing game is tough to have a ton of confidence in right now.

Samuel missed practice with an illness Friday and landed on the injury report as questionable. The 29-year-old receiver is expected to play, according to Schefter. He’ll be in the WR3 mix in the first round of the fantasy playoffs.

Samuel had practiced in full until Friday, when he was a surprise DNP. Most illnesses that come on this late aren’t truly status-threatening, though Samuel had a bout with pneumonia last year that sounded incredibly scary. We’d still consider him on the optimistic side of questionable for Week 15. He’ll be on the WR3 line if active.

Facing a third-and-fourteen on the Commanders’ opening possession, Deebo caught a screen pass and turned it upfield for a 15-yard gain — his biggest play of the day. His most notable play, however, was the dropped end zone target he had on a fourth-and-goal a few plays later that immediately ended the Commanders’ best shot at a touchdown all afternoon. Samuel’s six targets tied Terry McLaurin for the team lead in this one. He’ll have some upside as a FLEX play in Week 15’s game against the Giants.

Samuel took a backseat to tight end Zach Ertz and alpha wide receiver Terry McLaurin in what was the first full game from McLaurin since Week 2, seeing just seven looks to the 14 of McLaurin and the 13 of Ertz. He was also tackled just short of the goal line in overtime on what could have been a ceiling-saving touchdown catch. Fantasy managers have some reason for concern considering quarterback Marcus Mariota set a career high with 50 pass attempts in the overtime affair. Samuel’s days of consistent fantasy production could be behind him in 2025 if McLaurin takes over as the main option in the passing game.

Samuel also added three yards on his lone carry. Deebo has struggled to generate explosive plays this year, but that wasn’t the case versus Miami. He gashed the Dolphins in the second quarter, turning a short catch into a 20-yard score by cutting across the field after securing the grab. Samuel also broke off a 28-yard catch later in the game, eventually setting up a potential game-winning field goal from Matt Gay. Gay missed the kick and the Commanders lost in overtime. With Terry McLaurin uncertain to return after the team’s Week 12 bye, Samuel will likely stay in the WR2 ranks for Week 13 versus the Broncos.