Deebo Samuel is Redefining What it Means to be an NFL Wide Receiver
Not many predicted Deebo Samuel’s breakout 2021 season, but his play this year has been nothing short of dominant.
He’s 2nd in the league in receiving yards, but strictly looking at what he does as a traditional receiver may be selling him short. Samuel’s a versatile offensive weapon who’s capable of taking the ball to the house from any spot on the field.
He’s becoming just as lethal in the run game as he is through the air, and only three players — Jonathan Taylor, Cooper Kupp, and Derrick Henry — have more scrimmage yards than Samuel on the season. His yardage totals are elite, but what’s even more impressive is how efficiently he’s been posting these numbers.
Even though many of Samuel’s touches come closer to the line of scrimmage, he’s leading the league in yards per touch with a whopping 16.0 average.
Let that sink in.
Every time Deebo Samuel touches the ball, the 49ers can expect to gain 16 yards.
It’s no wonder 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan is doing everything he can to find creative ways to get Samuel heavily involved in his offense.
Shanahan has Samuel running deep routes, taking handoffs, catching screen passes, and more — all to get the ball in the hands of his star playmaker all over the field. Samuel can do all of these things at an elite level, and the creative ways he’s being utilized in this offense were on full display in the 49ers beatdown of the Rams on Monday night.
Right from the opening whistle, it was clear Shanahan made a point to get Samuel involved early and often. The star receiver logged three touches on the 49ers’ opening drive, and all three touches were run plays where Samuel was lined up in the backfield.
Oftentimes coaches hand the ball off to a receiver in an attempt to catch the defense off guard, but with Samuel the intention is different — get the ball in the hands of the best player on the field.
Samuel’s first touch came the second play of the game with the 49ers facing a 2nd and 6. They lined up under center with Samuel (#19) playing tailback:
A few plays later, they faced a 2nd and 9 and lined up in shotgun with Samuel in the backfield once again:
Then they did it again on a 1st and 10 a few plays later:
The way he’s reading blocks and finding rushing lanes makes it look as if he’s been playing running back for a decade. His speed and tackle-breaking ability allow him to pick up yards after contact on every play, and he’s producing for this offense every time he touches the rock.
On the two play calls that came on second down, Samuel was able to move the chains and pick up a first down. On his first down run, he picked up 9 yards to set the 49ers up with a 2nd and 1.
Getting him involved in the run game makes perfect sense for a 49ers’ offense that wants to be a run-first group. They’re somewhat limited at quarterback, but Shanahan’s a good enough coach to know that regardless of the circumstances around his star receiver, Samuel needs to be heavily involved in the game plan.
However, it’s not just the run game where a little creative coaching has helped get Samuel involved in the offense.
In the play below, the 49ers are facing a critical 3rd and 7 they need to convert to maintain control over the game. They line up in a 3 by 1 formation, and Samuel’s lined up at the top of the screen in his natural receiver position:
The inside receiver runs a deep route to clear out space, and the middle receiver runs a route towards the sideline that acts as a pick on Samuel’s defender. Samuel then runs towards the center of the field where there’s nothing but green grass in front of him:
Samuel proceeds to haul in the pass, break two tackles, and pick up a crucial 20 yards:
The play design here was simple yet elegant. It allowed Jimmy Garoppolo to make an easy throw to get the ball in the hands of his best playmaker in space, and from there Samuel did the rest.
Samuel’s too fast and too strong to be taken down 1 on 1 in the open field, and he’s working with a coach who knows exactly how to put him in the right spots to maximize his skills. The perfect marriage of skillset and scheme has Samuel leading the league in yards after catch this year (519), and game planning against him has become a nightmare for defensive coordinators across the league.
Samuel finished the Rams game with an even split of 5 carries and 5 receptions. Those 10 touches led to 133 scrimmage yards and 2 trips to the end zone.
Once on the ground (with a lovely celebration afterward):
And once through the air (on a 4th down that essentially iced the game):
Samuel’s five carries in this game were a career high. If he continues producing the way he did on Monday night, Shanahan will have no choice but to continue force feeding him the football.
The head coach and receiver duo are a perfect pairing, and the two are balking at the idea of having Samuel play like a traditional wide receiver. He’s a playmaker in every sense of the word, and the way the 49ers are utilizing his one-of-a-kind skillset this year is truly unique.
What Samuel’s doing at the receiver position is reminiscent of what guys like Christian McCaffrey and Darren Sproles did while playing running back. They broke the mold of traditional running backs by becoming deadly weapons in the passing game, and now Samuel’s doing the same thing as a receiver in the run game.
He’s becoming a truly positionless player, and his presence alone garners much attention from opposing defenses. In the 49ers’ offense, he’s constantly going in motion, carrying out play fakes, and serving as a decoy to open up opportunities for the rest of the offense. Defenses know they need to keep an eye on him at all times because there’s not a single spot on the field where they’re safe from Deebo Samuel.
The way he’s playing the game may be paving a path for future NFL stars to play the game in a similarly versatile manner. However, it’s also possible he’s a 1 of 1 and we’ll never see another player like Deebo Samuel ever again.
In the meantime, we should all just try enjoying his 2021 season as much as he is.
