Should I start Deebo Samuel Sr. or Brock Bowers in Week 9?

Where the draft room stands

Live drafts hold no current pick on Deebo Samuel Sr., and the board ranks him 77th overall on the rest of his evidence.

Live drafts hold no current pick on Brock Bowers, and the board ranks him 79th overall on the rest of his evidence.

By format he goes standard: ADP 17; 2QB: ADP 32.

The market-based projections

The market has Deebo Samuel Sr. at 3.2 PPR points a game off 1 market across 1 market source. That is 30 percent of what a wide receiver's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

The market-based projection for Brock Bowers is 3.1 PPR points a game off 1 market across 5 market sources. That is 30 percent of what a tight end's projection needs, so it is a fragment of one rather than a projection.

Deebo Samuel Sr.'s projection is not complete, so the two figures are not set against each other here.

This season so far

Through Week 5, Deebo Samuel Sr. has been on the field for 57 percent of SF snaps, drawn 15 percent of the targets and had 10 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 2 of the offence's 35 third down targets, had 2 of its 14 chances inside the five and seen 2 of its 21 two minute targets.

His 20 targets have averaged 2.6 air yards.

In Week 3 against ARI he carried 2 times for 14 yards and did not score.

In Week 4 against DEN he carried 3 times for 44 yards, caught 5 of 6 targets for 26 yards and scored 1 touchdown.

In Week 5 against SEA he carried 2 times for 4 yards, caught 2 of 3 targets for 21 yards and did not score.

Through Week 8, Brock Bowers has been on the field for 83 percent of LV snaps, drawn 28 percent of the targets and had 17 percent of the red zone chances.

He has taken 23 of the offence's 60 third down targets, had 2 of its 21 chances inside the five and seen 6 of its 36 two minute targets.

His 61 targets have averaged 10.0 air yards.

In Week 6 against BUF he caught 4 of 9 targets for 70 yards and did not score.

In Week 7 against LAR he caught 6 of 8 targets for 73 yards and did not score.

In Week 8 against NYJ he caught 7 of 10 targets for 92 yards and scored 2 touchdowns.

Their 2025 seasons

In 2025 Deebo Samuel Sr. played 16 games and scored 188.2 PPR points, 11.8 a game, finishing WR25.

He caught 72 of 99 targets for 727 yards and 5 touchdowns, with 11 red zone targets.

That came to 6.2 targets a game, a 73 percent catch rate and 10.1 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 72 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

In 2025 Brock Bowers played 12 games and scored 176.2 PPR points, 14.7 a game, finishing TE11.

He caught 64 of 86 targets for 680 yards and 7 touchdowns, with 16 red zone targets.

That came to 7.2 targets a game, a 74 percent catch rate and 10.6 yards a catch.

He was on the field for 85 percent of the snaps in the games he played.

Deebo Samuel Sr. was available for 4 games more.

Side by side

In 2025 Brock Bowers scored 14.7 PPR points a game and Deebo Samuel Sr. 11.8, 2.9 a game between them.

Deebo Samuel Sr. finished WR25 and Brock Bowers TE11, which are two different ladders.

Deebo Samuel Sr. is a wide receiver and Brock Bowers a tight end, so the question is which slot you fill first rather than which of them is better.

Byes and availability

Deebo Samuel Sr. is off in Week 8 and Brock Bowers in Week 13, so either can cover the other's bye.

Deebo Samuel Sr. is listed as out on the injury report.