Expectations for 49ers second-year wide receiver Deebo Samuel were already soaring after a stellar rookie season and a strong showing in Super Bowl LIV. Recently-retired 49ers left tackle Joe Staley raised the bar on those expectations in a post-game chat with Samuel after the team’s 31-20 loss to the Chiefs in that Super Bowl.
Samuel was already supposed to be the 49ers’ No. 1 receiver in 2020, but Staley thinks there’s a higher tier the 2019 second-round pick can reach.
“Basically, he’s one of the most talented rookies I’ve ever seen,” Staley told the Sacramento Bee’s Chris Biderman after the Super Bowl. “I was just telling him how important this offseason is and he can be the greatest receiver in the NFL. Just to work really hard this offseason and use this as motivation.”
Staley hasn’t been the type of player to throw hyperbolic praise around during his career, and Samuel’s rookie campaign supports the veteran left tackle’s assertion.
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Samuel posted 961 yards from scrimmage last season – 802 through the air and 159 on the ground. That’s the most ever by a 49ers rookie wide receiver, surpassing the previous high of 953 by Jerry Rice in 1985. His 961 scrimmage yards ranked 27th among all wide receivers, and second only to Tennessee’s AJ Brown among rookies.
Perhaps the most impressive part is how much of his productivity came in the back half of his rookie season. Samuel’s first half was relatively pedestrian with 22 catches for 227 yards with one touchdown, and five rushes for 37 yards and one touchdown in seven game. His 16-game pace after the team’s first half was 50 receptions, 519 yards and two touchdowns through the air to go along with 11 carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
His second half is where Staley’s belief in Samuel becomes more conceivable. He exploded for 35 catches, 575 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and nine rushes for 122 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. His 16-game pace was 70 catches, 1,150 yards and four receiving scores, along with 244 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 18 attempts. 1,394 yards from scrimmage would have put Samuel at No. 2 among all receivers last year.
Samuel took Staley’s encouraging words to heart and began an offseason training regimen that includes working with fellow 49ers Trent Williams and Jerrick McKinnon, along with Washington running back Adrian Peterson.
There was evidence in the latter half of 2019 that Samuel could be the most productive receiver in the NFL. Staley, who’s seen all there is to see on a football field during a 13-year career, believes there’s even more for the receiver to tap into. If Samuel heeds Staley’s words throughout his first full NFL offseason, he could quickly live up to the former left tackle’s monumental expectations.
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