Analyze Deeboo Samuel's matchup for week 10
A rejuvenated Samuel has 18 targets, 2 TDs and every-snap usage in the Commanders’ offense; start him as a high-end WR2 with easy WR1 upside in Week 10.
Samuel enters Week 10 as Jayden Daniels’ clear alpha: he paces the club in targets, lines up 74% in the slot, takes backfield carries and even returns kicks, replicating the 2021 usage that made him a top-5 fantasy weapon. The opponent (TBD) has leaked points to versatile receivers, and with Samuel’s heel issue resolved, the matchup is secondary to the massive volume and red-zone role he now commands.
Over two games in D.C. Samuel has commanded 18 targets, turned 14 catches into 121 yards and found the end zone twice while playing a season-high snap share—every metric is spiking.
The Commanders didn’t acquire Samuel to be a decoy; they want him touching the ball "in every way possible." That edict shows up in the snap data—74% slot, 15% backfield, plus special-teams work—and in the box score, where his 9 targets per game rank top-10 among all wide receivers so far. More importantly, Jayden Daniels has shown immediate rapport, peppering Samuel on quick hitters, manufactured screens and deep over routes that maximize YAC, the cornerstone of Samuel’s fantasy value. Add a pair of goal-line carries in each contest and you have the same hybrid usage that produced 1,770 scrimmage yards and 10 total TDs during his 2021 peak.
Health was the silent killer of Samuel’s 2024 campaign, but reports out of Ashburn say the heel is no longer an issue—he’s practicing in full and flashing the same explosive cuts that made him a tackle-breaking machine. With Curtis Samuel and Zach Ertz drawing coverage underneath, and Terry McLaurin keeping safeties honest outside, defenses can’t roll extra help to Samuel’s alignment, creating natural isolation matchups that a player with his tackle-breaking ability turns into chunk plays. Even if Washington falls behind and abandons the run, Samuel’s slot rate keeps him involved in the two-minute offense, giving him one of the safest weekly floors among non-alpha WR1 types.
Finally, the macro environment screams ceiling game: Samuel is in a contract year, playing for a coaching staff that has publicly stated it wants to showcase him for an extension, and doing so in an offense that currently sits top-five in neutral-paced plays per game. That combination of motivation, opportunity and scheme pace is rare in mid-season form. Expect another 8-10 looks, 70-90 scrimmage yards and a 40% shot at a touchdown—numbers that play as a high-end WR2 in any format and push toward WR1 status if the matchup-specific defense bleeds slot production. Bench him at your own peril; this revival is built to last down the fantasy stretch.