Deebo Samuel

NFL Network's ranking of the top 100 players going into the 2024 season continued on Tuesday with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown highlighting the stars in the group between Nos. 21-30.

Coming off a breakout 2023, Purdy made his first career appearance on the list at No. 28 overall. Brown moved up one spot from last year, checking in at No. 21.

NFL Network Top 100 Rankings (No. 21-30)

• A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles (No. 21)
• Penei Sewell, OT, Detroit Lions (No. 22)
• Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions (No. 23)
• Dexter Lawrence, DT, New York Giants (No. 24)
• Jalen Ramsey, CB, Miami Dolphins (No. 25)
• Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 26)
• Nick Bosa, DE, San Francisco 49ers (No. 27)
• Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers (No. 28)
• Khalil Mack, LB, Los Angeles Chargers (No. 29)
• Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers (No. 30)

Purdy jumped into the top 30 after finishing fourth in MVP voting last season. The 24-year-old set a 49ers' franchise record with 4,280 passing yards in 16 starts. He led the league in QBR (72.8) and rating (113.0).

This marks the first time a 49ers quarterback has made the list since Jimmy Garoppolo (No. 43) going into the 2020 season.

Brown's move up the list came after he had an unusual season. The three-time Pro Bowler had a historic six-week streak with at least 120 receiving yards in every game from Week 3 through 8, racking up 831 yards and five touchdowns during that span.

In nine games after that stretch, Brown had 517 yards and two touchdowns. He only surpassed 100 yards once in a 42-19 loss to the 49ers in Week 13.

The drop in production is much more a product of the issues the Eagles were having than any indication that Brown hit a wall.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown moved up 43 spots from the 2023 ranking. He was named to the All-Pro first team after recording 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Penei Sewell made the list for the first time after being an All-Pro selection last season. The Lions rewarded both Sewell and St. Brown with contract extensions this offseason.

Even though Nick Bosa made the list for the third straight year, this is actually the lowest he has been in the rankings. The 49ers star edge rusher checked in at No. 4 overall last year coming off his Defensive Player of the Year season in 2022.

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel spoke from experience in providing advice to teammate and fellow wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk regarding his contract situation on Friday.

Just like Samuel did two years ago, Aiyuk is staging a hold-in at 49ers training camp in hopes of landing a new deal.

Samuel, who ended up signing a three-year, $73.5 million contract to remain in San Francisco as a result of his hold-in, told reporters the following when asked what advice he has given Aiyuk:

"I know what it feels like to go through what he's going through right now. The only thing I can do is just tell him is to keep his head up, things are gonna work out. Just day by day, like, it's a long process—real long—it's frustrating. All I can do is just tell him to keep his head up, be where his feet are, just continue to do the things he does for his communication on his end and their end, and hopefully, things just play out."

ESPN's Adam Schefter (h/t ESPN's Nick Wagoner) reported earlier this month that Aiyuk officially requested a trade out of San Francisco due to a lack of progress in contract negotiations, although the 49ers reportedly told interested teams they had no intention of trading him.

Niners general manager John Lynch followed up by telling reporters the 49ers "fully intend" on having Aiyuk with the team moving forward.

The 26-year-old Aiyuk is set to enter the final year of his rookie contract, and he is coming off the most productive season of his NFL career thus far.

After breaking out with his first 1,000-yard receiving season in 2022, the 2020 No. 25 overall draft pick out of Arizona State set a new career high with 1,342 yards last season, while also leading the Niners with 75 receptions and seven touchdown catches.

Given that Aiyuk is younger and has much less of an injury history than Samuel, he is likely in line to land a significantly bigger contract than his teammate did.

It remains to be seen if he will get that deal with the 49ers or with a different team next offseason, but all signs point toward the Niners keeping him for 2024 in hopes of making another run at the Super Bowl.

With the NFL changing its kickoff rules to encourage more returns, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel wants the chance to field some kicks.

"I wouldn't mind doing it from the get-go," Samuel said, per David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com (h/t Pro Football Talk's Charean Williams). "I'm a team-first player, so if [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] was like, 'Hey, man, we don't want you to do it full-time. We just use you whenever we really need it,' I'm fine with that. But if you want to use me full-time, I'm all for that as well."

Samuel has returned just nine kicks in his five-year career, averaging 25.4 yards per return. He returned six last season for 154 yards. While starring at South Carolina in college, Samuel was a prolific kick returner, averaging 28.4 yards per return and racking up four kicks returned for touchdowns in his four seasons with the Gamecocks.

Given his importance to the 49ers, it makes sense why he isn't the team's main kick returner, but that might change now that new rules are put in place to hopefully avoid injuries on kickoffs.

Starting this season, kicking teams will line up on the 40-yard line and cannot move until the ball hits the ground or the player in the landing zone. The returning team will have nine blockers lined up between the 30- and 35-yard line and must have at least seven of those blockers touching the 35. Return teams are also allowed two returners that will line up inside the 20.

The new rules hope to avoid high-speed collisions while encouraging returners to bring the ball out more.

Whether the 49ers will let Samuel become a returner this year is to be determined, but it would likely make for some big plays.

After nearly a full offseason of speculation, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk finally made an official trade request, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported on Tuesday. According to Garafolo, the 49ers haven't "been willing to engage" in contract negotiations since May.

Presumably, Aiyuk will follow up his request with the threat of holding out of training camp, which kicks off for veterans next Tuesday, for a trade or the contract he wants. This means that now is the perfect time for a receiver-needy team to come calling about the top player on the Bleacher Report Trade Block Big Board, right?

Maybe, but if a team is going to pry the 26-year-old breakout star from San Francisco, it's going to have to make an offer that the 49ers cannot refuse.

ESPN's Adam Schefter was quick to follow up Garafolo's report by stating that the 49ers have "no intention" of trading Aiyuk. That could change for the right offer, and general manager John Lynch would be foolish not to listen. However, the 49ers have no reason to panic-trade one of their best players or to immediately cave to his contract demands.

Those demands, according to Schefter, don't fall in line with what San Francisco believes Aiyuk is worth.

"The 49ers do not want to and do not intend to trade Brandon Aiyuk despite the fact that he has asked the team officially to move on from him," Schefter said Wednesday on NFL Live (h/t Bleacher Report's Joseph Zucker). "And really what this comes down to is, there is a disagreement on his value.

At least one other team values Aiyuk differently, according to The San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Silver:

Silver told KNBR 680 in June (h/t Taylor Wirth of NBC Sports Bay Area) that San Francisco's offer was in the $26 million-per-year range. Aiyuk clearly wants more than that—possibly something closer to the $28.3 million annual value that Miami Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle got on his recent extension.

There's still time for the 49ers and Aiyuk to find a middle ground, as the team did with wideout Deebo Samuel shortly after the start of 2022 training camp. When it comes to negotiations, time is on San Francisco's side.

For Aiyuk, who is under contract on the fifth-year option, an extended holdout would be costly. According to ESPN's Nick Wagoner, the receiver would be subject to fines of up to $50,000 per missed practice. Aiyuk is set to earn $14.1 million in 2024, but those fine checks would stack up rather quickly.

Trying to hold out into the regular season could be even more costly, as Aiyuk would miss actual game checks. That would be a very risky choice since, in theory, the 49ers could franchise-tag Aiyuk next offseason and put him right back in his current scenario.

This year's franchise-tag value for receivers was $21.8 million, more than what Aiyuk is due to make but substantially less than San Francisco's annual offer.

Aiyuk could also try "holding in" during camp—reporting but not participating in actual practices—a tactic Samuel used during his contract negotiations. That would carry risks too, though, including the possibility of not being prepared for the regular season or being replaced in the offensive game plan.

If Aiyuk's best option is to ultimately cash in during 2025 free agency, he'll need to follow up last year's 1,342-yard season with another strong campaign.

The 49ers also have enough receiver insurance to play the waiting game. The re-signed Jauan Jennings before drafting Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing in Rounds 1 and 4, respectively.

San Francisco would obviously prefer to have Aiyuk in the Week 1 lineup, but it has no reason to overpay to make it happen or to move him for anything less than an overwhelming offer.

The 49ers have been pretty patient with Aiyuk's situation throughout the offseason, and his trade request shouldn't change their approach.

NFL league executives, coaches and scouts ranked Deebo Samuel among the honorable mentions while coming up with a top-10 list of wide receivers around football, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.

His versatility—Samuel caught 60 passes for 892 yards and seven touchdowns, but also made an impact between the tackles, rushing for 225 yards and another score—was highlighted as one of the reasons for his inclusion.

"Durability has been a bit of a concern, but he's the ultimate weapon," an AFC executive told Fowler.

On most teams, Samuel would likely be the center of the offense. But the 49ers also have Christian McCaffrey, who does much of what Samuel is able to do, and arguably does it better.

And then there's Samuel's teammate Brandon Aiyuk, who reportedly has requested a trade out of San Francisco. He led the team in receptions (75), receiving yards (1,342) and tied with Samuel for the lead in receiving scores. He came in at No. 10 on the list.

So the Niners currently have Samuel as something of a third option on offense. That's a scary thought for defenses around the league.

The early fan reviews for Netflix's new Receiver series are in, and they're overwhelmingly positive.

Fans flocked to social media Wednesday to heap praise on the documentary series, which features George Kittle, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson and Deebo Samuel on their journey during the 2023 NFL season.

One of the biggest revelations from the documentary was St. Brown revealing he played much of last season through a torn oblique.

That said, it wasn't just the players themselves who earned praise. Some observers came away from watching the show major fans of the relationship between Kittle and his wife, Claire.

The show just released Wednesday morning, so these are only the early reviews. However, it appears Netflix's relationship with the NFL and Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions has another hit on their hands.

The parties released Quarterback last year to widespread acclaim. If the early reviews lead to massive viewership for Netflix, don't be surprised if the series comes back again in 2025 with another position group.

Green Bay Packers two-time All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon playfully called his ex-South Carolina teammate, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, "annoying" during an appearance on the Up & Adams show Wednesday.

The 49ers beat the Packers 24-21 in the NFC Divisional Round last year, but San Francisco is headed to Green Bay for a much-anticipated rematch on Nov. 24 this season.

Nixon, who recently said the Packers "let the 49ers off the hook," said that he's been "hearing it" from Samuel and also 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir "all summer."

"Deebo's annoying," Nixon said with a smile. He added: "He likes FaceTime. He likes to talk crazy in your face."

There's no bad blood between the two, though, as Nixon also clarified that he and Samuel are close. Samuel did the same on X later but also mentioned that he has his eyes on Week 12.

The seventh-seeded Packers nearly pulled off a tremendous upset over the top-seeded 49ers, taking a 21-14 lead in the third quarter. However, Green Bay's offense was stagnant down the stretch, with its final four possessions ending with an interception, a punt, a missed field goal and another pick. Meanwhile, the 49ers scored 10 points on Jake Moody's 52-yard field goal and Christian McCaffrey's six-yard touchdown run to win the game.

Obviously, Green Bay wants some revenge, and the team is also looking for a potential Super Bowl after coming so close to a NFC Championship Game appearance last year. The road to do that might have to go through San Francisco, who has made the conference title game four of the last five years.

So Nixon is right to be focused on this one, as it could very well be a playoff preview too.

Get ready to have a closer look at some of your favorite wide receivers this summer, as Netflix announced its upcoming documentary Receiver is set to premiere on July 10.

The series follows the success of Netflix's Quarterback and will feature the eventful 2023 season for top stars like Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings), Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders), George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers), Deebo Samuel (49ers) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit Lions). Netflix dropped its first trailer for Receiver on Thursday:

According to a release, the series description for Receiver states, "It's been said that there's no more difficult position in the NFL than the quarterback. But throwing the pass is only half the story. Receiver follows five of the NFL's best pass catchers throughout the 2023 season on and off the field."

The trailer showed a glimpse of the colorful personalities the series is spotlighting, from St. Brown painting his hair blue to Jefferson showing off his jewelry collection to Kittle having a shirtless advertisement on the side of a vehicle. However, it also provided a deeper look at how each receiver makes time for their families, such as Adams saying he gets to be "a superhero" for his children after his heroics on the field.

The series should be especially interesting for Samuel and Kittle, as they helped lead the 49ers to an appearance in Super Bowl LVIII last season and fell short against the Kansas City Chiefs. It was also a trying year for Jefferson, who was forced to sit out for an extended period for the first time in his career due to hamstring and chest injuries. Despite missing seven games, he still finished with over 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight year.

Receiver will feature eight episodes that have an average run time of 45 minutes. The series is sure to capture the attention of fans who enjoy getting a deeper dive into the lives of their favorite players.