49ers must pursue Curtis Samuel hard in free agency

The 49ers need wide receiver depth in 2021, and Panthers wideout Curtis Samuel would be an excellent NFL free agency target.

The San Francisco 49ers are set with their top two wide receivers heading into 2021, Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.

After those two, however, things get a bit murkier on the depth chart.

Kendrick Bourne and Trent Taylor are both free agents. Jalen Hurd has yet to take a regular-season snap after being injured the last two years. Jauan Jennings is a work in progress, while Richie James and River Cracraft are depth pieces at best.

True, the Niners don’t have a ton of money to spend freely in NFL free agency this offseason, particularly with left tackle Trent Williams being a high priority. And it’s also true the NFL Draft is laden with wide receiver talent.

But if San Francisco wants to bolster its wide receiver depth chart, it should be putting Carolina Panthers wideout Curtis Samuel high up the target list.

49ers ‘positionless’ offense can benefit from Curtis Samuel

Just think what head coach Kyle Shanahan has done with both Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. Both receivers have served as running back-type weapons out of the backfield, particularly with Samuel’s well-known jet sweeps.

That’s often how the Panthers used Curtis Samuel, him acting as both a receiving weapon and legitimate rushing threat out of the backfield.

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Generated 3/11/2021.

The last two years, especially, have showcased the 24 year old’s versatility. And merely by checking out Samuel’s efforts against the Washington Football Team in Week 16 last year, where he had 158 all-purpose yards, it’s not hard to envision that kind of performance in Shanahan’s offense:

Granted, there are likely to be a number of suitors for Samuel’s services this offseason. The Green Bay Packers need receiving help, and head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense isn’t entirely unlike what the 49ers operate.

Likewise, the New York Jets are also looking to overhaul their offensive system underneath one of Shanahan’s proteges, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, who’ll likely install a scheme awfully similar to San Francisco’s.

Samuel could prefer to play in Green Bay, particularly with quarterback Aaron Rodgers being his delivery method.

But that shouldn’t discourage Samuel from considering the Niners, too.

And the 49ers should strongly consider him right back.

Eventually, it’ll have to come down to the former second-round NFL Draft pick’s asking price. Over the Cap gave Samuel a 2020 valuation of just under $7 million, which might be a bit too steep for a player who’d essentially be No. 3 on the wide receiver depth chart.

Yet that doesn’t account for specifically how Shanahan and the Niners would use him — an all-encompassing uber-offensive weapon, capable of stretching the field with speed, grabbing short-area passes and turning them into chunk gains or acting as a running back out of the backfield.

If anything, Samuel is the perfect Shanahan-type player.

So, as long as Samuel hits the open market later this March, San Francisco needs to be paying attention and considering a strong offer.