Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, the Pittsburgh Steelers involved their receivers in running plays on 26 plays for 186 yards and a touchdown. The Kansas City Chiefs ran their receivers 24 times for 194 yards and a touchdown. The Jacksonville Jaguars ran their receivers on 21 attempts for 173 yards and a touchdown. The New Orleans Saints ran their receivers 21 times for 86 yards. And the Arizona Cardinals ran their receivers 20 times for 111 yards.
There are NFL teams that like to use their receivers in the run game, and then, there is the San Francisco 49ers, who ran their receivers 90 times for 581 yards and nine touchdowns. Of course, Deebo Samuel was the primary instigator in that schematic construct — he had 86 of those runs for 502 yards and all nine rushing touchdowns.
Ever since the 49ers selected Samuel in the second round of the 2019 draft out of South Carolina, he’s been a perfect fit in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive concepts, and while the running aspect of it is a huge deal, there are other ways in which Samuel has made that passing game go. Even with an average quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo and a developmental first-round prospect in second-year man Trey Lance, Samuel has been… well, quarterback-proof, and it makes him one of the NFL’s premier receivers and weapons.
Now that the 49ers have signed Samuel to a well-deserved three-year, $73.5 million contract extension with $58.1 million guaranteed, the question remains: How can Samuel become even more of a dynamic weapon in Shanahan’s offense? Because as much as Samuel is thought to be a “gadget player” by some, he’s actually a complete receiver capable of winning with any concept you want to put up on the board.
Perhaps the news that Shanahan has decided to make Trey Lance his starting quarterback in 2022 and beyond will make that happen. Because Jimmy Garoppolo left far too much on the table. More on that in a minute. For now, let’s look as what makes Samuel so special.