49ers’ Samuel gearing up for a big encore
Year 2 for 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel is starting as impressive as the strong finish to his rookie year.
Perhaps make that twice as impressive.
“I’m trying to double what I did last year, and keep getting better and better every day,” Samuel said Wednesday on a video conference with reporters.
That drive for success is imperative. The 49ers’ receiving corps is undergoing its annual transformation, most notably with first-round pick Brandon Aiyuk arriving to offset Emmanuel Sanders’ exit in free agency.
Unlike a year ago when his onfield exploits did most of his talking, Samuel is making an effort to become more of a vocal leader for the reigning NFC champions. He weaved between Wednesday’s talking points as carefree as he shuffled through defenders as a rookie. Take a look how with these five topics: 1. Jimmy Garoppolo’s chemistry — Samuel revealed that Garoppolo reached out to the receivers Wednesday regarding potential throwing sessions, wherever that might be possible outside of Santa Clara County’s shelter-in-place protocol and the 49ers’ virtual offseason program.
“You see the things that Jimmy does on the field, but at practice, he coaches very hard and is very technique sound,” said Sanders, who’s currently training in Houston with teammates Jerick McKinnon and Trent Williams.
Garoppolo targeted Samuel a game-high nine times in the Super Bowl, and while Samuel caught five passes for 39 yards, he added three carries for 53 yards. That capped a rookie year filled with production. His regular-season stats: 57 receptions for 802 yards (second-most ever by a 49ers rookie) and 14 carries for 159 yards, with three touchdowns both on the ground and in the air.
“In the beginning of the year, I was still learning and figuring things out,” Samuel added. “As the season goes on, you become better at listening to the verbiage, knowing where to line up, getting lined up faster and not thinking as much.”
2. Reaching out to Aiyuk — Once the 49ers traded up to draft Aiyuk, Samuel had advice to offer and tracked down his phone number through receivers coach Wes Welker.
“I gave him call and I was like, ‘Hey, man, I just want you to know it will take time,’ “Samuel said. “He has it harder than I do now. I was around the coaches and able to use them as much as possible.
“With him, it’s just a Zoom call, and it’s hard to listen to a guy tell
you what you want to do and not be able to go on the field. I told him, ‘Hey, man, lock in, pay attention. I know it’s hard. If you need anything, feel free to call me, (Kendrick Bourne), even Wes.’ “
If Aiyuk proves a quick study, then Samuel believes he can help confuse defenses.
“Aiyuk has got a little finesse to his game, which I like. We’re similar in a lot of ways,” Samuel added. “It’ll give defenses a problem, like, say the jet sweep motions, they’re so used to seeing me, and if they see a different guy, it will give them defenses something to think about.”
3. The receiver room — Samuel says “anybody” inside the 49ers’ receiver room could emerge as a breakout player from the hodgepodge.
“It’s going to be a real competition and push everybody in the room to be the best they can,” Samuel said.
While Samuel and Bourne return with the most experienced from last season’s NFC champions, they have other help. Trent Taylor and Jalen Hurd are major factors if healthy after sitting out 2019. Speed receiver Travis Benjamin arrived. Dante Pettis and Richie James Jr. are back to fight for spots.
As for seventh-round pick Jauan Jennings from Tennessee, Samuel recalled playing against him while at South Carolina, adding: “You could tell he’s a very physical guy, loves to get after it and doesn’t care about getting dirty.”
4. Insight on Kinlaw — South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw of the South squad runs drills during practice for the Senior Bowl Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, in Mobile, Ala. Kinlaw was selected No. 14 overall in the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. (AP Photo/Butch Dill) (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Samuel’s last two seasons at South Carolina were enough to get a read
on defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw, the 49ers’ top draft pick.
“He’s a very humble, hard-working guy,” Samuel said. “He’s very chill when it comes off the field. He’s one of the best dudes when he’s on the field, and you can look at him and see he’s a dog out there.”
The 49ers selected Kinlaw with the No. 15 overall pick as a turnkey replacement to DeForest Buckner, who they traded in March to Indianapolis. “I told him he’s got big shoes to fill,” Samuel said, “and he’s more than ready to get out there and show coaches what he’s capable of. I saw it first hand when I was (at South Carolina).”
5. Leadership strides — Once the 49ers traded last October for Sanders, “he brought the the leader mentality, the vet mentality that we needed in the room,” Sanders said.
With Sanders signing with New Orleans and Marquise Goodwin getting dealt to Philadelphia, Samuel is aware he may need to mature quickly as a leader, a step that Sanders convinced him last year to take.
“He said, ‘Bro, you don’t know you’re a leader just by how you play. Just imagine how big of a leader you can be by being more verbal and able to coach players on certain things,’ “Samuel recalled. “I’m not a very talkative guy. I like to lead more by example. Being more verbal is something I’ve been working on lately.”
You want one more example of saying the right thing? Well, Samuel did just that when asked about the season’s uncertain path amid the COVID-19 pandemic, such as whether fans will be allowed at games.
“I never in life played the game without fans so I don’t know how it’d feel,” Samuel said. “It’d feel like a scrimmage, which would be weird. If that happens, we have to make the best of every opportunity to play, with (fans) or without.”