In his third season with the San Francisco 49ers, Deebo Samuel emerged as one of the most dynamic and versatile offensive weapons in the NFL. The receiver led the NFL in yards per catch, and he finished the season with 1,405 yards on 77 receptions (while also adding 365 yards on 59 carries and 14 touchdowns). He's continued to make big plays this season, including torching the Rams on a 57-yard reception in custom “Dior” Nike cleats on Monday Night Football.

Aiding his evolution into one of the game’s most feared playmakers? He has totally overhauled his eating habits since his rookie year. Easy fast-food options have now been replaced by carefully made meals to help assure he can sustain his energy through the grind of an NFL season. He's got a chef now, in other words.

GQ caught up with All-Pro to discuss how he’s cleaned up his diet, his home-cooked favorite cheat meals, and why taking some time off from football during the offseason is great for the body and mind.

For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.

GQ: How long did you take off during the offseason to let your mind and body rest?

Deebo Samuel: We ended in January, so I probably took about two months away because of all the bumps, bruises, and all the stuff I went through last season. Whenever I’m locked in on training, I want to be as fresh as possible. I took that time away, but once I started training? I was locked in from there.

I was once told that, for football players, the healthiest you’ll be is the first day of camp. After that, it’s all about managing the body. How important is that time away from the game once the season is over?

I think that time away is great. Taking your mind and body away from football is a great thing to do. You don’t want to be all about ball, ball, ball because you’ll start stressing yourself out. The freshest you’ll be is the first day of camp? That is one of the truest statements that I’ve heard. From that day on, you have preseason games, you’re practicing hard, and something is going to be wrong. It’s just how are you going to protect your body, what you’re putting into it in order to be able to get through it.

I’ve been told before that you have to watch what you eat even more in the offseason than during the season. Do you allow yourself to enjoy food more during the time away from the game?

I’m from the South, so you have to get one of those home-cooked meals in. Once I get back into training, I’m not big on red meat. I had a couple of steaks here and there during the offseason, but once I get close to camp, I cut that out. But at the end of the season, if I want to treat myself to a great meal, I’ll do that.

With this being your fourth year, how has your diet evolved since becoming a pro?

I can take you back. As a rookie, you’re young and you still have that college mentality a little bit. You feel like you can eat and do whatever and still be the player that you are. As I’ve grown, I’ve changed my diet since my rookie year until now. My chef is actually downstairs cooking right now. It’s about putting more all-natural foods in my body. It’s none of the outside food that I used to eat when I was a rookie. It’s just being more disciplined with my body and knowing what it takes to continue to be a professional in this league.

What were some of those outside foods that you would consume your rookie year that you wouldn’t even touch now?

I used to literally eat whatever: fast food and fried foods. I don’t do too much of that anymore because the more you eat that, the more the oil and grease sits in your body. Me, being the player I am and wanting to play at the high level that I like to perform at, that’s not the right thing to do [anymore].

You became a recent investor in the cherry-juice company Cheribundi earlier in the year. When did they get on your radar?

They got on my radar early on in college. We had gotten a new nutritionist and she introduced it to me. She told me it was really good for recovery and healing your muscles. With all the injuries I was dealing with, she felt it could really help. After breaking my ankle and my foot, I had gotten pretty consistent with it and it helped me throughout my [college] career.

You know, as a youngin’, you’re not thinking too much about it. You’re like, “I just got hurt and I’ll bounce back whenever the time is supposed to come.” As I got older and in now my pro career in the NFL, I still use it daily because of the amount of reps I take in a game—just to get my body right and prepared for each game on Sunday.

I know you mentioned it’s all-natural foods throughout the season, but what does a cheat meal entail?

I’m not so much of a snacker as I used to be. One thing that’s hard: My family is out here most of the time during the season and they can get my chef to cook all kinds of chicken and macaroni and cheese. You know I’m from the South and it can be hard for me to deny it. But at the end of the day, I have to be disciplined in this profession if I want to continue to be the player I want to be.

You sound like a true vet now. What’s your advice to rooks on the team?

You just have to be smart and disciplined. It’s not only all on you. I had two great mentors my rookie year in Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders. They helped me become the pro that I am today because of the advice they gave on being disciplined, watching tape, and not being able to take days off in this league. The day you begin slacking is the day someone else is getting better. You just have to hone in on your craft and be the best you can possibly be every day.

You have to have great practice habits because if you’re not a great practice player, you’re not going to be as good as you want to in the game. You have to practice just as hard as you would play during the game. That’s something [Welker] instilled in all the receivers during the time he was with us.

What’s a day of eating like for you?

Every morning, we’re definitely starting off with a shake and some scrambled egg whites. For lunch, I normally do salmon or some kind of fish with a plate of vegetables. For dinner, I’ll eat whatever my chef makes. It’s a healthy dinner that includes salmon, or fish or chicken. It's a lot of vegetables and low on carbs. It makes it easy because he knows what I eat and don’t eat. After dinner, I’ll have the tart cherry juice to wind down and get ready for bed.

What is the most important thing you do from a recovery standpoint for your body?

I do some acupuncture to release muscle soreness and I also do Egoscue. You’re doing everything you possibly can to be as fresh as you can for Wednesday's practice—we’re normally off on Tuesday.

What is the one thing you need to do that’s a necessity during your game day routine?

I’m a big music guy. I’ll wake up in the morning, turn my music on, get my fit, and everything ready. I’ll get my breakfast downstairs at the hotel because you can’t stay at the house [before games]. Once I’m done eating, I’ll put my fit on and once I leave the hotel, I’m in game mode. I’m listening to music on the way to the stadium, in the locker room. You got the boys in there, got the music going. Music is a huge part of my game day routine.

You seem to be the unofficial DJ for the squad. What’s currently on the walk-out playlist now?

We’re still negotiating what we’re going to walk out to. We’re trying to see whose dropping what and what’s hot. Me and big Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk play a big role in what we play. One of the songs we like to listen to is “Baby Birkin” by Gunna. That gets us going in the locker room. It’s like a calm and chill little song but it gets everyone going.

Read the full article by Christopher Cason on GQ.