SF 49ers roster: Targeting one free agent for each position in 2021
By Peter Panacy
SF 49ers Wide Receiver: Curtis Samuel
Kyle Shanahan already has his top two wide receivers identified for 2021: Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
Behind that tandem, though, San Francisco faces a lot of questions.
One of the elements Shanahan has implemented, however, has been a positionless offense. Samuel and Aiyuk both capitalized on that, and it wouldn’t be surprising for Shanahan and the SF 49ers to go after players who rank as wide receivers but act as running backs.
Few in the NFL’s ranks epitomize that more than Carolina Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel.
Samuel, 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, can line up anywhere in the formation. He’s played on the outside and in the slot, and the Panthers didn’t hesitate to use him as a running back on jet sweeps and the like last season, too.
As a result, Samuel netted 1,051 all-purpose yards with five touchdowns last season.
Perhaps that’s the kind of playmaking skill Shanahan would like to see, and Samuel would help provide that type of weaponry on a reasonable contract.