The 49ers in each of the last three weeks have needed an offensive spark. In all three instances they went to wide receiver Deebo Samuel to make a play, then leaned on him to continue manufacturing offense as a pass catcher in all three levels and as a runner out of the backfield. In the last three games, all 49ers wins, Samuel has accounted for 382 scrimmage yards and six total touchdowns.
Teams will surely aim to take Samuel away, which is exactly what head coach Kyle Shanahan wants.
Shanahan on Monday in his conference call said there’s not a concerted effort to get Samuel the ball specifically since the team is so loaded offensively, but he wouldn’t mind if teams started focusing heavily on his playmaking wide receiver.
“I mean, we always try to get to Deebo to get a spark if you look since he’s been around,” Shanahan said. “But, our other choices too, if we go to Christian at the time, [TE] George [Kittle], B.A., Jauan, anybody. They all can give sparks. It kind of depends on what teams are playing, how they’re playing us. Deebo has also strung together a number of healthy weeks here over this last month, which has allowed him really to get back into the groove of things and be more consistent and just being out there and not having to sub him quite as much and him kind of being ready for all this stuff.
“So, it’s awesome when you can put him there and the more he does it the more people are going to focus extremely hard to take those away because if he isn’t a good look that’s usually the results you get. The more we can get people to take Deebo away, there’s nothing against Deebo, that means he’s a threat and that makes things easier for other guys. So it really should be ebb and flow like that throughout a year based off the guys we have and distributing it.”
Sunday’s win over Seattle was a dazzling offensive display where Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Kittle and McCaffrey all got loose. Samuel, Aiyuk and McCaffrey all accounted for more than 100 yards from scrimmage. Kittle posted 76 yards and a touchdown.
If teams start devoting more resources to stopping one player, it means they’re leaving one of those weapons either unguarded or in a mismatch. That’s the bind Shanahan wants defenses to be in, and in an ideal world they’ll be leaving themselves vulnerable in an area the 49ers can exploit.
Samuel is a tone setter for San Francisco’s offense and they should continue going to him when they need a big play. However, the 49ers will take it if they’re getting big plays elsewhere because teams are trying so hard to ensure it’s not Samuel beating them.
