Tyshun Raequan "Deebo" Samuel Sr. (born January 15, 1996) is an American professional football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earning first-team All-American honors in 2018. Samuel was selected by the 49ers in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft. With San Francisco, Samuel received Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in 2021 after leading the league in average receiving yards. He was traded in 2025 to the Washington Commanders before rejoining the 49ers the following year. Samuel holds the NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver and is the only wide receiver in league history to have at least 20 receiving and 20 rushing touchdowns.
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Early life
Samuel played football at Chapman High School in Inman, South Carolina. As a senior, he led his team to the semifinals of the AAA playoffs. During his career, Samuel had 166 catches for 2,751 yards and 36 touchdowns; he rushed 133 times for 898 yards and 13 touchdowns. He finished with a school-record 53 career touchdowns, 94 tackles and 12 interceptions. He won the High School Sports Report Class AAA Offensive Player of the Year, and played in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, a high-school all-star game with players from North and South Carolina.
Coming out of high school, Samuel was rated as a three-star recruit in the 2014 college football recruiting class. He committed to the University of South Carolina to play college football for the Gamecocks over offers from Appalachian State, Charlotte, East Carolina, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Old Dominion, and Vanderbilt.
College career
2014 season
Samuel redshirted in his true freshman year of 2014.
2015 season
Samuel played in five games, making three starts while struggling with injuries. He suffered a hamstring injury in the season opener against North Carolina. Samuel finished the season with 12 receptions for 161 yards.
2016 season
In his sophomore season, Samuel played in 10 games, led the team with 59 receptions for 783 yards, and rushed 15 times for 98 yards and six touchdowns. In the Birmingham Bowl against USF, he had 14 receptions for 190 receiving yards.
2017 season
In the first game of the season against NC State, Samuel returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and had five catches for 83 yards for two touchdowns. In Week 2 against Missouri, Samuel once again returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and finished with five catches for 45 yards, and also ran the ball two times for 30 yards and a touchdown. In Week 3 against Kentucky, on the first play from scrimmage Samuel caught a 68-yard touchdown pass from Gamecock quarterback Jake Bentley. After suffering a season-ending injury later in the game, Samuel would finish the season having not even played three full games, yet accumulated 250 yards receiving for three touchdowns, two carries for 30 yards and a touchdown, and two kickoff returns for two touchdowns for a combined 194 yards.
In Week 3 against Kentucky, with 2:27 left in the third quarter, Samuel caught a pass from Jake Bentley and was awkwardly tackled by Derrick Baity Jr. of Kentucky, bending his leg back. It was announced after the game by head coach Will Muschamp that Samuel had broken his right fibula and would miss the rest of the season. Despite the injury, it was announced that Samuel could possibly return later on in the season, but during his rehab he suffered a sprained foot and would not return.
2018 season
On November 5, 2017, Samuel announced that he would be returning for his senior season. Samuel finished the 2018 season with 882 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. His best game of the season came against Clemson, where he caught 10 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. He chose not to play in the Gamecocks' bowl game, the 2018 Belk Bowl. He was later selected to play in the 2019 Senior Bowl.
Professional career
San Francisco 49ers (first stint)
Samuel was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round (36th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. He signed a four-year contract with the 49ers on July 25, 2019.
Samuel made his NFL debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, catching three passes for 17 yards and losing a fumble in the 31–17 road victory. In the next game against the Cincinnati Bengals, he caught five passes for 87 yards and his first NFL touchdown as the 49ers won on the road by a score of 41–17. During Week 8 against the Carolina Panthers, Samuel caught three passes for 19 yards and rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown in a 51–13 victory. Two weeks later against the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football, he caught eight passes for 112 yards in the 27–24 overtime loss. In the next game against the Arizona Cardinals, Samuel caught eight passes for 134 yards in the 36–26 victory. Samuel would have two more touchdown catches over the next two games against the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Ravens, and would add another rushing score in the Week 16 contest against the Los Angeles Rams. In the regular-season finale against the Seahawks on Sunday Night Football, he caught five passes for 102 yards and rushed twice for 33 yards and a touchdown in the 26–21 road victory.
During Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs, Samuel rushed twice for 53 yards and caught five passes for 39 yards during the 31–20 loss. His 53 rushing yards was the most by a wide receiver in Super Bowl history.
Samuel was placed on the non-football injury list at the start of training camp on July 28, 2020. He was activated on September 5, but was placed on injured reserve on September 12. He was activated on October 3. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 4, and activated two days later. In Week 12 against the Rams, he had 11 receptions for 133 receiving yards in the 23–20 victory. Samuel finished the 2020 season with 33 receptions for 391 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.
During the season-opening 41–33 road victory over the Detroit Lions, Samuel caught nine passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. In Week 8, Samuel had six catches for 171 yards in a 33–22 win over the Bears, earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week. In Week 10, Samuel had five catches for 97 yards and five carries for 36 yards and two total touchdowns in a 31–10 win over the Rams, earning his second NFC Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season.
Washington Commanders
On March 12, 2025, Samuel was traded to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round selection in the 2025 NFL draft. A week later, the team guaranteed his $17 million base salary for 2024 and included an additional $3 million in incentives. Samuel started his season with a win against the New York Giants in Week 1, a game where his only rushing attempt led to a 19-yard touchdown. He scored another touchdown the following week, though Washington lost 18–27 against the Green Bay Packers. In Week 4, an injury-affected Washington team lost against the Atlanta Falcons, though Samuel was his team's top receiver and scored a touchdown after a pass by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. Washington beat the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 5 with the returning Jayden Daniels, as Samuel completed the scoring with a late receiving touchdown. Samuel finished the 2025 season with 72 receptions for 727 yards and five receiving touchdowns to go with a rushing touchdown.
San Francisco 49ers (second stint)
On August 1, 2026, Samuel signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers.
Career statistics
Career highlights
Awards and honors
First-team All-Pro (2021)
Pro Bowl (2021)
3× NFL Top 100 — 19th (2022), 61st (2023), 30th (2024)
First-team All-American (2018)
NFL records
Most rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver all-time: 20
First wide receiver to record at least 20 rushing touchdowns and 20 receiving touchdowns in a career
Most rushing touchdowns in a single season by a wide receiver: 8 (2021)
Personal life
Samuel was given the nickname "Deebo" by his father after the character Deebo played by Tiny Lister Jr. from the 1995 film Friday.