San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The player the 49ers miss the most from their 2024 team

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Grant Cohn | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 1:18 PM ET

The 49ers lost nine starters this offseason. And for the most part, they don't miss any of them.

Through five games, the 49ers defense has allowed the sixth-fewest points in the NFL despite the losses of Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, Charvarius Ward, Maliek Collins, Javon Hargrave and Leonard Floyd. In each case, it seems the 49ers made the right choice to let those players leave.

And while the 49ers offensive line has struggled at times this season, so has Aaron Banks, who signed a lucrative multi-year contract with the Packers this offseason. He has been a terrible disappointment in Green Bay.

The player the 49ers miss most this season is an offensive weapon. And it's not Jordan Mason, even though he's having a solid season for the Minnesota Vikings. He's a good player, but even he probably would struggle behind the 49ers' poor run blocking this season.

And that's why the 49ers miss Deebo Samuel so much. He's having a terrific season for the Washington Commanders, while his replacement, Ricky Pearsall, is injured.

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Samuel did not have a good season for the 49ers in 2024, but defenses still feared him. When he went in motion before the snap, he drew the attention of 11 defenders, and his gravity created openings and opportunities for others. In addition, Samuel is a tremendous weapon in the red zone, while Pearsall isn't at this point in his career. He has scored zero touchdowns so far this season.

When Samuel was on the field for the 49ers in 2024, their estimated points added per play was 0.072. Without him, their EPA per play was 0.046. Which means they tended to be more efficient and score more points when defenses had to account for Samuel.

This season, defenses are zeroed in on stopping Christian McCaffrey. As a result, the 49ers' run game is one of the worst in the league, and their offense is averaging just 21.2 points per game.

In retrospect, the 49ers probably would have been wise to extend Samuel instead of Brandon Aiyuk, simply because Samuel's skill set is more difficult to replace and his impact on the offense is greater than Aiyuk's, even when Samuel is not playing his best.

Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

In five games this season, Samuel has scored four touchdowns for the Commanders.

Meanwhile, no one on the 49ers has scored more than three touchdowns this season, and Aiyuk reportedly still isn't close to returning from his massive knee injury.

And to think the 49ers traded Samuel for a fifth-round pick, which they used to draft Jordan James, who still hasn't played a snap in the NFL.

Big mistake.

This article first appeared on San Francisco 49ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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