DEEBO SAMUEL

[papasmurfbell]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/south-carolina-wide-receiver-deebo-223000982.html

South Carolina wide receiver Deebo Samuel's 2019 NFL Scouting Combine workout

 

 

Click the link to see the vid.

 

https://thedraftnetwork.com/player/deebo-samuel

Separation Quickness - Explosive player who gets to top speed very quickly. Accelerates away from coverage to create space for throwing windows. Some deceleration at the top of his routes that makes him easier to mirror out of the break for quicker corners. Flashes of varying speed at the top of the route can catch off-coverage corners napping.

Ball Skills - Difficult to evaluate. Granted, Samuel is not going to make a living off adjusting to off-target throws down the field, but he dealt with inaccurate quarterbacking his entire career at South Carolina, and there were definitely flashes of strong snags outside his frame. Has made some one-handed grabs that are highlight reel worthy. Will drop a few here and there, usually looking to run before it's secured.

Speed/Burst - Didn't appear quite as explosive this season after breaking his ankle early in 2017. Not a true burner, but has enough speed to get on top of cornerbacks on vertical patterns. Has shown ample ability to be a home run threat after the catch, running away from defenders for big plays. Great initial burst, but no second gear and small stride lengths don't eat up cushions quickly.

Route-Running - Adept route runner who wins early and late in routes. Gets his head around out of the break and finds the football. Has run the full route tree at South Carolina and knows how to adjust his patterns and sit down in the soft spots against zone. Comes back to the football with awareness of defenders around him. Vs man coverage needs to be more physical and better with his hands to work over contact down the field.

Contested Catch - Maybe the degree of difficulty on contested catches this season was too great, but Samuel didn't make many of them. Granted, the few opportunities I saw weren't tremendous chances, but his lack of catch radius and top-notch high point ability are obvious. That said, he showed exceptional strength, positioning and ball skills in 2016 and in his two pre-injury games in 2017, so perhaps his contested catch ability just wasn't unlocked this season? Want to see him in these situations at the Senior Bowl, but natural limitations make it hard for me to project it as an area of excellence in the NFL.

YAC - Outstanding after the catch. Quick acceleration, elite contact balance and the will to always finish forward. Constantly puts his shoulder down and looks to dish out punishment. Will not go out of bounds without a fight. Competitive drive is impressive, yet constant awareness of the sticks and will reach the line to gain by any measure necessary. Was incredibly elusive in space in 2016 and early 2017, less so this season in his return to action. Experience as an elite return man aids him in this area as well.

Releases - Rarely hung up against press coverage and consistently gets off the line of scrimmage clean. Could stand to vary his releases more and add some more deception, but shows terrific quickness and foot speed to force corners to open before they can land their hands. Won't chew up off coverage or threaten corners with great speed off the snap.

Blocking - Surprising lack of desire and physicality as a blocker. Hard to understand given how exceedingly physical he is after the catch with the ball in his hands. Was it not taught/encouraged heavily there? There are reps where his strength and tenacity come out as a blocker, but too few and far between. Does have a couple peel-back blocks that are sweet.

Competitive Toughness - I'm not sure what to do with the lack of effort as a blocker, but other than that you'd think the guy considered a football game a war zone. Takes every physical challenge personally, runs through contact constantly and plays with an edge.

Athleticism/Size - Lacks height and length, but thickly built with a super muscular frame. 215 is too heavy for him, should drop 10 pounds if he weighs in that heavy. Was more explosive as a sophomore when he looked lighter. Strong athlete who needs to test well to keep his stock up, but probably won't hit any elite numbers at the Combine.

BEST TRAIT - YAC

WORST TRAIT - Blocking/Contested Catch

RED FLAGS - Broken lower leg suffered against Kentucky in Week 3 of 2017 season.

Coming into this season, I really only had less than three full games in 2017 and a strong sophomore season the year prior to evaluate Samuel on, after he broke his leg early in the campaign. He was exceptional on tape in every game I've watched - impossible to tackle after the catch, mossing corners down the field and showing top-notch speed and acceleration.

This season was a good year for Samuel, but not up to those standards. Granted, the quarterback play was terrible, but he didn't make quite as many outstanding plays over the first half of the season, and struggled to consistently gain the kind of separation he had in the past. Late in the year things seemed to click again, as Samuel ate up defenses after the catch and started to look more like his old self.

As for his NFL projection, Samuel needs to test well or he could be pigeonholed as just a slot, which will hurt his draft stock. He has enough traits to play outside, but is there one he can really hang his hat on? I think he's outstanding after the catch and a good route-runner, but he does project as more of a high-caliber complementary piece in an offense rather than a feature weapon.

 

 

Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
Height: 5-11. Weight: 216. Arm: 32.5. Hand: 10.13.
Projected 40 Time: 4.55.
Projected Round (2019): 1-3.

Read more: http://walterfootball.com/draft2019WR.php#ixzz5h8jK4oc3

Read more at http://walterfootball.com/draft2019WR.php#hUdkrB5mRP5CkM5C.99

 

As a 3rd rounder I would grab him. During an interview I would question his desire to block. Not super fast I like his hands and route running. I see him as a tweener possession homerun guy.