Who Should I Start? Gus Edwards or Deebo Samuel

Wednesday, March 20, 2:09 PM

New Los Angeles Chargers running back Gus Edwards will have a big role in the offense in his first year with the team, according to The Athletic's Daniel Popper. Head coach Jim Harbaugh, general manager Joe Hortiz and offensive coordinator Greg Roman have all stated their goal of building a reliable running game to help quarterback Justin Herbert. Edwards brings the Bolts a downhill running style, physicality and proven production in Roman's scheme with the Baltimore Ravens. However, it feels like LA will add at least one more piece at RB this offseason, either in free agency or the upcoming NFL draft. The 28-year-old had 13 rushing touchdowns and 810 rushing yards on a career-high 198 attempts in 2023 in Baltimore, but he also had a career-low 4.1 yards per carry and is certainly going to regress in the TD department in his first year with the Chargers.

Wednesday, May 1, 2:04 PM

The San Francisco 49ers were engaged in trade talks involving wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel leading up to the draft, but the team elected not to trade either of their star receivers, with all signs pointing toward both being on the 2024 roster. Aiyuk is entering the final year of his rookie deal, and the assumption was that he'd be the odd man out after the team paid Samuel and other star players. Samuel still has two years left on the deal he signed before the 2022 season. San Fran has been to at least the NFC Championship game in four of the last five seasons, and losing Aiyuk or Samuel would almost certainly make the team worse in 2024. The 49ers can afford to keep both this year, but an Aiyuk extension would likely reduce his $14.124 million salary cap number for 2024. Samuel's fantasy value would have likely taken a hit with a move out of the Bay Area.