Should the Eagles Trade for Deebo Samuel?
Eight days before the draft, yet another dramatic storyline involving a dynamic receiver has disrupted draft season, as San Francisco 49ers wide receiver/running back/offensive weapon Deebo Samuel has asked the team to trade him. It sounds as if this request is not financially motivated, however, and rather more of a gripe against how the team is using him on offense. Samuel wants to be more of a traditional receiver rather than a “wide back” hybrid.
Deebo’s trade request became public just after we hung up with @TomPelissero in our first hour so we had to call him back to explain what went wrong in San Francisco:#NFL #NFLDraft#FTTB pic.twitter.com/lveW0WP1fD
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) April 20, 2022
Samuel’s three-year career with the 49ers is a fascinating one, to say the least. He was a 2019 second-round pick (36th overall) out of South Carolina. After a successful rookie year (57 catches, 802 yards, 3 touchdowns), in 2020 he missed three consecutive games on three different occasions and, outside of an 11 catch, 133 yard performance against the Rams, was mostly very quiet. This past season, however, Samuel completely broke out with 77 catches, 1405 yards, and 6 touchdowns in the air (and a ridiculous 11.6 yards per target, which led the league out of players with at least 500 receiving yards). What is even more interesting, however, is the way Kyle Shanahan utilized him in the second half of the season. From Weeks 10-18, Samuel had 53 carries out of the backfield compared to just 40 targets in the air. It worked! Samuel’s stocky frame and agility were perfect for the wide back role, and it made the 49ers offense very dangerous down the stretch of the season despite unspectacular quarterback play. In the 11 games he was used this way (including playoffs), Samuel averaged 6 yards per carry with 8 touchdowns, and San Francisco went 9-2 and made it to the NFC Championship as a 6 seed. With third overall pick Trey Lance, who offers much more in physical traits than Jimmy Garoppolo, seemingly ready to take over, Samuel and the Niners felt like a match made in heaven.
Clearly, this is not actually the case, as it turns out Samuel does not like this new role he has. This is odd to me. While Samuel is certainly a good receiver, he is extremely dynamic as a wide back, as in legitimately one of the most dangerous players in the league. He reportedly wants $25 million per year, but is he worth that just as a traditional receiver? I think he would have a hard time arguing that, even with the inflated receiver market. It is hard to shell out that kind of money to a player after one highly-productive season, but it could maybe be more justified if he received that money in the Bay Area, where his skillset is best utilized. I have a feeling he will not get the contract he wants on a new team, but maybe he truly does not care about that and just wants to go to an offense that will use him more conventionally.
Finally, this leads us to the point of the article. Should the Eagles trade for him? This is probably going to be an unpopular answer, but no, I would not. Assuming the cost is a first-round pick (and more), I would rather take my chances on a receiver with the 15th pick for roughly 20 percent of the cost for four years. Samuel is a very fun, explosive player, but I do not think he has earned his asking price and am not yet convinced he is a surefire long-term fit in the offense the Eagles desire to run long-term. Is he a theoretical fit for what Jalen Hurts is good at? Yes, but to be quite blunt, I do not think the Eagles care about what Jalen Hurts needs right now.
Photo: USA Today
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