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Why 49ers WR Deebo Samuel will have a Resurgence in 2024

Good news for the 49ers.

Grant Cohn

January 20, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) before a 2024 NFC divisional round game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 20, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) before a 2024 NFC divisional round game against the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
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Deebo Samuel still is a good player, but he hasn't lived up to the contract extension he signed with the 49ers two years ago.

When he signed the extension, he was coming off a Pro Bowl season and a first-team All Pro selection. At the time, the 49ers thought Samuel would have many more Pro Bowl seasons, but he hasn't.

Five seasons into Samuel's career, he still has been to the Pro Bowl just one time. And now he has taken a backseat to Brandon Aiyuk who has become the unquestioned no. 1 wide receiver on the team. Samuel is a second banana.

That could change this year, though.

The current first banana, Aiyuk, is unhappy with the 49ers. Sure, they're offering him more than Samuel makes, but even that's not enough to satisfy Aiyuk. So he's holding out and it's unclear when he will return.

Meanwhile, Samuel was the only veteran captain who participated in OTAs and minicamp. He was the leader. He set the example of how to practice for the younger players.

And now Samuel seems to be in the best shape he has been in since 2021 when he was an All Pro. That season, he was motivated because he was eligible for a contract extension at the end of it. And when Samuel is motivated, he's one of the most unstoppable players in the NFL. Defensive backs simply don't want to tackle him. They all make business decisions when he has the ball.

The issue with Samuel has been maintaining his drive. He hasn't been nearly as driven as Aiyuk the past two years. But that seems to have changed.

Good news for the 49ers.

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Grant Cohn

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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