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Why Deebo Samuel Will Be the 49ers' Offensive MVP in 2024

Samuel is extremely motivated this season, because it might be his final one with the team. Which means this essentially is a contract year for him. And the last time he was in a contract year, he was an All Pro.

Grant Cohn

Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Ariz, United States; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) poses after a touchdown catch against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at State Farm Stadium.
Dec 17, 2023; Glendale, Ariz, United States; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel (19) poses after a touchdown catch against the Arizona Cardinals during the fourth quarter at State Farm Stadium. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY
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Last season, the 49ers' Offensive MVP deserved to go to Christian McCaffrey or Brock Purdy -- each player had a legitimate case for the award.

This season, I'm guessing neither player will be the 49ers' Offensive MVP. Not because they'll regress. But the odds simply are against them staying healthy for the full season. The 49ers have a notorious history of going through quarterbacks and running backs at an alarming rate. Last season was the exception.

And if Purdy or McCaffrey miss an extended period of time, Deebo Samuel's importance will sky rocket.

If Joshua Dobbs has to start a few games, you can bet he'll throw a ton of short passes to Deebo Samuel. Dobbs might not have the poise or the accuracy to get the ball downfield to Brandon Aiyuk as well as Purdy does, but any NFL quarterback can throw screens to Samuel and watch him break eight tackles.

if McCaffrey misses a few games, Samuel will have to reprise his role as the 49ers' wide back, the position he played when he was first-team All Pro in 2021. The 49ers haven't had to lean on Samuel as much as they did that season because they have McCaffrey, but if he's out, everything changes.

In addition, Samuel is extremely motivated this season, because it might be his final one with the team. Which means this essentially is a contract year for him. And the last time he was in a contract year, he was an All Pro.

I'm just saying.

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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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