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The departure of diminutive slot receiver Cole Beasley leaves a gaping void in the Dallas Cowboys’ roster. Thecurrent batch of receivers in the 2019 draft class looks to be an ideal place to find serviceable talent. One such prospect the Cowboys should keep their sights on is South Carolina’s Deebo Samuel.
In order to understand how Samuel projects to the NFL, one of the first things to consider is his usage on offense. Which routes did he run the most? Was he primarily operating in the slot or on the outside? These are good questions to ponder for teams looking to draft him.
Alignment Data
Games sampled: Clemson, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Missouri
Over the course of his four-year career Samuel had 223 targets for 2,073 yards. In the Gamecocks offense Samuel’s role was clearly defined. He was a player that was rarely tethered to the line of scrimmage, primarily playing Z-receiver for his team. This allowed him to be motioned freely all over the field.
It might be surprising to learn that Samuel was used sparingly from the slot in the games viewed. He saw most of his action lined up outside as a Z-receiver. However, this should not discredit his effectiveness from the slot position. In fact some of Samuel’s biggest plays came when lined up on the inside.
https://media.giphy.com/media/FdV16ZS3VJjAU7JlGT/source.mp4
Here he shakes the defender on a post route. The defender is playing man coverage with plenty of open field behind him, a relative no man’s land.
Another interesting way the Gamecocks used Samuel was with various screen plays. He was often tasked with generating yards on his own. For receivers, creating something out of nothing can prove to be a daunting task, especially when swarmed with defenders.
Samuel does not waver on this front and he happens to be one of the most effective college WRs in terms of yards-after-catch, and he is a handful to bring down.
https://media.giphy.com/media/1wmbFs1PBHN9borQbU/source.mp4
According to Pro Football Focus’ 2019 Draft Guide, Samuel had 592 yards-after-catch for his senior season, accounting for 67 percent of his total receiving yards.
All things considered, Samuel actually projects well as a slot receiver, but he also provides the added versatility of being split out wide without losing effectiveness. He was not asked to line up often in the slot, but if given the opportunity he would not disappoint in this role.
Measurables
Route Usage Rate
In football there are nine basic routes a WR can run.
Samuel’s most used route was the nine (go route), at a whopping 30.4 percent. Routes labeled as other include drag routes and other specialized routes such as the whip and sluggo to name a few.
There is a trend in this chart. Samuel appears to run in breaking routes (post, slant, dig) at a higher rate. All out breaking routes reside at the bottom, with the corner route being his least ran at 2 percent.
One interesting aspect of lining up in the slot is that it opens the door to more route running possibilities. Being closer to the line of scrimmage gives more free space to a receiver. In stark contrast, Samuel was mostly lined outside, and with his 4.48 speed, he was asked to take the top off the defense by running a vertical route predominantly.
Trump Card
Receiving production aside, something that really stands out about Samuel is his proficiency on special teams. Returning kicks is his specialty, and he can become a prolific return man right out of the gate. Over his four-year collegiate campaign he had four kickoff returns for a score. This is something that boosts his value. He is equally adept in two phases of the game.
https://media.giphy.com/media/1pAbuARuv03sq9mTX2/source.mp4
Full Game Films
Projection
Samuel is not a pure slot receiver, but part of what makes him so intriguing, especially for a team like the Cowboys, is that he makes the offense more variable. If the team was so inclined they could mix him up with Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper in multiple passing situations. If anything, for some plays the combo of Gallup and Samuel could be split out wide while Cooper would man the slot. As Gallup begins year two in the league, he might become the teams’ starting X-receiver, his projected role since being drafted. This means that Samuel and Cooper would see the most overlap in terms of usage.
Having a player like Samuel would require some creativity on offense. His targets don’t need to be manufactured. But in order to maximize his production and efficiency, it is going to take more than designing a simple bubble screen on third-and-long and expecting him to pick up a first down. Perhaps things will change now that Kellen Moore is calling the shots on offense. The bottom line is simple, Samuel is a player that the team should strongly consider, especially if he falls all the way to pick No. 58.
Gallery
Cowboys 7-round Mock Draft: March 15, 2019
Continue reading...
In order to understand how Samuel projects to the NFL, one of the first things to consider is his usage on offense. Which routes did he run the most? Was he primarily operating in the slot or on the outside? These are good questions to ponder for teams looking to draft him.
Alignment Data
Games sampled: Clemson, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Missouri
Over the course of his four-year career Samuel had 223 targets for 2,073 yards. In the Gamecocks offense Samuel’s role was clearly defined. He was a player that was rarely tethered to the line of scrimmage, primarily playing Z-receiver for his team. This allowed him to be motioned freely all over the field.
It might be surprising to learn that Samuel was used sparingly from the slot in the games viewed. He saw most of his action lined up outside as a Z-receiver. However, this should not discredit his effectiveness from the slot position. In fact some of Samuel’s biggest plays came when lined up on the inside.
https://media.giphy.com/media/FdV16ZS3VJjAU7JlGT/source.mp4
Here he shakes the defender on a post route. The defender is playing man coverage with plenty of open field behind him, a relative no man’s land.
Another interesting way the Gamecocks used Samuel was with various screen plays. He was often tasked with generating yards on his own. For receivers, creating something out of nothing can prove to be a daunting task, especially when swarmed with defenders.
Samuel does not waver on this front and he happens to be one of the most effective college WRs in terms of yards-after-catch, and he is a handful to bring down.
https://media.giphy.com/media/1wmbFs1PBHN9borQbU/source.mp4
According to Pro Football Focus’ 2019 Draft Guide, Samuel had 592 yards-after-catch for his senior season, accounting for 67 percent of his total receiving yards.
All things considered, Samuel actually projects well as a slot receiver, but he also provides the added versatility of being split out wide without losing effectiveness. He was not asked to line up often in the slot, but if given the opportunity he would not disappoint in this role.
Measurables
Route Usage Rate
In football there are nine basic routes a WR can run.
Samuel’s most used route was the nine (go route), at a whopping 30.4 percent. Routes labeled as other include drag routes and other specialized routes such as the whip and sluggo to name a few.
There is a trend in this chart. Samuel appears to run in breaking routes (post, slant, dig) at a higher rate. All out breaking routes reside at the bottom, with the corner route being his least ran at 2 percent.
One interesting aspect of lining up in the slot is that it opens the door to more route running possibilities. Being closer to the line of scrimmage gives more free space to a receiver. In stark contrast, Samuel was mostly lined outside, and with his 4.48 speed, he was asked to take the top off the defense by running a vertical route predominantly.
Trump Card
Receiving production aside, something that really stands out about Samuel is his proficiency on special teams. Returning kicks is his specialty, and he can become a prolific return man right out of the gate. Over his four-year collegiate campaign he had four kickoff returns for a score. This is something that boosts his value. He is equally adept in two phases of the game.
https://media.giphy.com/media/1pAbuARuv03sq9mTX2/source.mp4
Full Game Films
Projection
Samuel is not a pure slot receiver, but part of what makes him so intriguing, especially for a team like the Cowboys, is that he makes the offense more variable. If the team was so inclined they could mix him up with Michael Gallup and Amari Cooper in multiple passing situations. If anything, for some plays the combo of Gallup and Samuel could be split out wide while Cooper would man the slot. As Gallup begins year two in the league, he might become the teams’ starting X-receiver, his projected role since being drafted. This means that Samuel and Cooper would see the most overlap in terms of usage.
Having a player like Samuel would require some creativity on offense. His targets don’t need to be manufactured. But in order to maximize his production and efficiency, it is going to take more than designing a simple bubble screen on third-and-long and expecting him to pick up a first down. Perhaps things will change now that Kellen Moore is calling the shots on offense. The bottom line is simple, Samuel is a player that the team should strongly consider, especially if he falls all the way to pick No. 58.
Gallery
Cowboys 7-round Mock Draft: March 15, 2019
Continue reading...