Deebo Samuel Is One of the NFL's Game Breakers
NFL Analysis 8/21/22
Deebo Samuel is a game breaker. After signing a three-year $73.5 million dollar contract extension this offseason, I believe the 49ers must do everything in their power to feed him the ball as much as necessary.
Changing the Narrative
This whole idea of a guy having to play only one position has been the narrative because it's what we have come to know in the NFL. We don't really utilize players as a "Ginsu Knife" as we would typically see in high school or even college. The 49ers have a unique individual who can run the ball, who can catch the ball and do pretty much whatever else you want a player to do and execute with the ball in their hands. As a coordinator, your job is to get the ball in that playmaker’s hands however you deem necessary.
Game Breaker
I remember the NCAA video game used to have “game breakers” as they called them. Samuel is a game breaker. You don't label him as just a receiver. He is a wide receiver because that's what he got drafted as, and that's where he primarily plays. But, he is just a flat-out football player.
You don't put a number on how often you give him the ball. You just try to find ways to give him the ball. If that's a lot, then so be it. There are going to be some days where it's going to be a heavy load and some days where it might not be. At the end of the day, trust and believe Kyle Shanahan is going to try to put the ball in the hands of Samuel how often he deems necessary and however many times that takes.