USAT: Niners Wire audio clip

USAT: Niners Wire

Jan 28, 2022

Deebo Samuel is one of the NFL’s most unique offensive weapons. That’s part of the reason the 49ers find themselves in the NFC championship game. Samuel’s multifaceted skill set allows head coach Kyle Shanahan to move Samuel around and play him in multiple positions. - Other players in the NFL are capable of taking handoffs as a receiver or running routes as a running back, but Samuel is truly unique in how effective he is at both. That effectiveness is why the third-year receiver isn’t watching much film on other players at his position, because he plays the position in such a different way. - - #49ers WR Deebo Samuel on why he doesn't watch other WRs: "There's not another receiver in this league who plays like me or does the things I do." - — Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) January 28, 2022 - - - That level of confidence is part of why Shanahan has been so comfortable leaning on Samuel in virtually every big spot this year. He’s been at the same time a go-to receiver and the lead running back. It’s also hard to argue with him in regards to no player playing like him. - Atlanta’s RB Cordarrelle Patterson is probably the closest there is in the NFL and the 30-year-old converted WR only had 1,166 scrimmage yards with more than half of them coming on the ground. - On the other hand, there are surely small things he might be able to take away from watching other receivers. Additional nuance is never a bad thing to have in a tool belt, but then again Samuel racked up 1,770 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns in 2021. If he continues doing that, it’s hard to criticize his methods since he developed into one of the NFL’s best offensive players. - - List - - 10 plays that defined 49ers' run to NFC championship - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Niners Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Niners Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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