Samuel had four catches (seven targets) for 40 yards in Thursday's 28-25 win over Arizona.
Marquise Goodwin (coach's decision) was a surprising healthy scratch following the acquisition of Emmanuel Sanders at the NFL trade deadline. It was Samuel who entered the starting lineup in Goodwin's place, leapfrogging Dante Pettis on the depth chart as well. Samuel still finished third in terms of targets and receiving yards, a trend that could repeat itself on a weekly basis with established options like Sanders and George Kittle getting the first looks from Jimmy Garoppolo. The promotion to the starting lineup does give Samuel deeper-league appeal heading into another primetime matchup against the Seahawks in Week 10.