Ranking 49ers 5 best NFL Draft picks by John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan

No. 3: WR Deebo Samuel

It still hurts to say it, but for a little while during Super Bowl 54, it looked like a rookie wide receiver might win the MVP trophy. That’s how good 49ers wideout Deebo Samuel was during the back half of his first NFL season.

The Niners chose Samuel out of the University of South Carolina with their second-round pick (36th overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft. And while it took the first-year man a while to get going, he soon became an integral part of the 49ers offense throughout the playoff run.

Kyle Shanahan and his coaching staff got an early jump on Samuel after coaching him during the 2018 Senior Bowl, where the receiver put on a show for his future employers:

And while his quick feet and release off the line of scrimmage might have earned him notice, it was what Samuel did with the ball in his hands during his rookie season that really got the league to take notice.

Samuel racked up 961 yards of total offense (802 receiving, 159 on the ground) on 71 total touches (57 catches, 14 carries), good for 13.5 yards every time he had the ball and six touchdowns. And by season’s end, he at times found himself as the Niners’ de facto No. 1 option as both a wide receiver and at running back.

While Samuel wasn’t named to the All-Rookie team, mostly due to how late his surge came and the strength of seasons by the Tennessee Titans’ A.J. Brown and the Washington Redskins’ Terry McLaurin, he did establish himself as a player to watch out for moving forward.

If he can clean up the drops (10 in 2019 according to Pro Football Focus) and fumbles (two on the season), he should look to stand atop the team’s wide receiver depth chart into 2020 and for years to come.