Described by the Niner Faithful as the Swiss Army knife for the San Francisco 49ers, Deebo Samuel emerged as a superstar in 2021, amassing over 1,770 yards from scrimmage and 14 total touchdowns in 16 games. Although Samuel started the season as a wide receiver, with his versatile skill set and the coaching staff’s desire to get him more involved, he soon found himself in the backfield during the push for the playoffs.
Although an expert at finding creative ways to incorporate new offensive tactics, head coach Kyle Shanahan found himself in trouble because of the injuries sustained in the backfield. Despite the deep running back depth chart, Raheem Mostert, Elijah Mitchell, Jamycal Hasty, and Trey Sermon all missed games throughout the season.
When asked by reporter Field Yates on how to describe the position he plays, Deebo Samuel responded with, “Wide back. Wide receiver playing running back.”
Standing at 6'0", and weighing 215 pounds, the San Francisco 49ers have had no issues finding a way to get him more involved in their offense.
YAC Attack As A Receiver
One playstyle the 49ers did to utilize Samuel’s skills was to call quick-release plays. These included screens, rushing attempts, and end arounds to put the ball in his hands immediately after the snap. This allowed him to take advantage of his greatest skill: yards after catch (YAC).
Operating as a run-first offense, his most premier quality as a playmaker is the ability to bulldoze defenders down while being shifty enough to break tackles. The offense relies on his ability to break away for high yardage plays on play-action sets to keep the defense on their toes.
The graph above depicts the 2021 Season leaders in receiving Yards After [the] Catch (YAC). Leading the pack was AP Offensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp, but Samuel placed comfortably in 2nd with 768 receiving YAC. What separates him from the other elite players on this graph is the difference in quarterback play. The other players had premier quarterbacks that operated an elite pass-heavy offense like Matthew Stafford, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, or Patrick Mahomes to throw them the ball. However, Deebo Samuel made plays in a run-first offense with Jimmy Garoppolo and rookie Trey Lance under center.
The graph below displays the team comparisons in passing attempts vs. rushing attempts during the 2021 season. I highlighted the teams that the players in the YAC graph played for to show how they compare against each other. As we can see, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers called the most passing attempts with 731 passing attempts, while the San Francisco 49ers called the least among the highlighted teams with 514 passing attempts.
When we can see the sheer disparity in pass attempts the 49ers ran, Samuel’s receiving YAC statistic is even more impressive because he does not draw the same amount of opportunities as other playmakers.
Another interesting aspect I found with Deebo Samuel was his catch percentage. Catch Percentages are found by dividing receptions by targets. Targets represent the number of times a ball was thrown in a player’s direction, regardless of whether the reception was made.
Though Garoppolo is not an inaccurate passer by any means, based on the receivers depicted below, the quarterbacks they play for, such as Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, or Justin Herbert, are more well known for their deep throw accuracy. If his catch percentage was a little bit higher, I wonder how much his YAC would increase by. Could he have overtaken Cooper Kupp?
YAC Attack As A Rusher
As mentioned above, San Francisco began to utilize Deebo Samuel as a rusher midway through the season due to injuries sustained by their running backs and their desire to involve him even more in the offense. As a result, Samuel led wide receivers in rush attempts, rushing yards, and rushing yards after contact. Although YAC stood for yards after [the] catch in the receiving world, YAC in the rushing world stands for yards after contact.
It’s important to distinguish both terms to avoid confusion.
Observing the graph above, we can quickly identify Deebo Samuel breaking away from the rest of the pack in total rushing yards after contact. Overall, he rushed the ball 59 times, racking up 365 rushing yards and scoring eight times. The 49ers were virtually the only team to heavily utilize a wide receiver into their rush offense.
Whether it be strategizing defensive tactics to combat players like Samuel or even emulating the 49ers’ offensive play style, it will be interesting to see how NFL teams adjust to this playstyle that Kyle Shanahan brought. If the opportunity presents itself, I can envision current players like D.J. Moore or Terry McLaurin utilized in this fashion.
With his presence to prevent teams from committing to the run, the offense can balance out their offensive playstyle. Overall, Deebo Samuel tallied six receiving touchdowns in 2021, with an average distance of 43.6 yards per touchdown. He rushed for eight touchdowns in 2021, with an average distance of 15.3 yards per touchdown. Based on his efforts and value to the 49ers’ offense, I could argue that Samuel was the Most Valuable Player to any team this year. Regardless of whether he receives or runs, operates in the open field or in the trenches, he can and will hurt opposing defenses.
