49ers TE George Kittle Says Deebo Samuel will Have a Big Game vs. Rams

George Kittle is having one of the best seasons of his career. Deebo Samuel is not.

Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (1) comes out of the tunnel before the start of the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

George Kittle is having one of the best seasons of his career. Deebo Samuel is not.

On Tuesday in the 49ers locker room, Kittle was asked about Samuel's struggles. Here's what Kittle said.

Q: What do you think about Deebo Samuel tweeting that he's not struggling, he's just not getting the ball."

KITTLE: "You know what? Deebo is one of our best playmakers. And while he might not have all the stats to show for it this year, touchdowns and stuff like that, he's had a couple called back, and I thought against the Bears, the opportunities that he had, he was trying to make the most of them. Unfortunately for a couple of those, they had better calls than the plays that we called, whether it was some type of pressure or how they switched the defense up or we didn't execute those blocks for him in the ways that we should have. To me, Deebo is very close to breaking it wide open. I think he's going to have one of those amazing Deebo Thursday night games, especially against the Rams. That's what I see. Guys want to voice their opinions on social media -- it is what it is. I don't really care. It doesn't make anyone in this locker room feel any differently about him. Deebo thinks highly of himself and we all think very highly of him because he's a hell of a player. He just wants to be out there and contribute to the team and he'll have an opportunity to do that this Thursday."

Q: Are defenses anticipating his plays better than they did in the past?

KITTLE: "No, what the Bears were doing, their old head coach, they had a very specific way that he ran his defense with the way that their ends played. So we had all these cool little trick plays around that. And they came out and played it completely different than they had been playing it all season. And so we called them into the wrong look. And on one of those plays, I need to get around an end, he shoots upfield instead of going down the line of scrimmage, guy shoots past Jauan Jennings, takes me out so then Deebo doesn't have a lead blocker. If I can get around that, he probably walks untouched into the end zone. Certain stuff like that. He's trying his best to make opportunities from plays that might not look great, but he's about to pop off."

MY TAKE: I appreciate Kittle's leadership and belief in his long-time teammate, but Samuel is not one of the best playmakers on the team. He used to be. Those days are over. And the 49ers don't need Samuel to have a big game this Thursday against the Rams. They need Kittle and Jennings to have big games.

Download and follow The Cohn Zohn Podcast.