The San Francisco 49ers added two players to their wide receivers group via the draft. The team selected Deebo Samuel in the second round and then Jalen Hurd one round later. Many draft experts saw Samuel as a good fit as a slot receiver and Hurd as a potential wildcard who could do damage in several ways.
New 49ers wide receivers coach Wes Welker recently joined the 49ers Insider Podcast and discussed the two rookies. He feels Samuel is versatile enough to play any receiver position. He will, however, need to lose some weight to perform effectively in the slot, says Welker.
"I think he's a guy that you can play inside or outside," Welker told Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. "He's definitely a bigger body but he does have good quickness, and speed, and all those different things.
"Me and him, we keep on talking. If he wants to play in the slot, he's going to have to lose a few pounds. That's something that we're working on now, and he's working hard to do it. We're going to keep on just harping on him of doing that. He's had a great attitude about it.
"He's looked really good, and I'm excited about how far he's come so far. And we're just going to keep on working on it."
Welker went on to explain why Samuel has to shed some pounds to play in the slot.
Wes Welker keeps it 💯 at OTAs.
Catch coach @WesWelker in action as he works with the #49ers young corps of receivers in this Mic'd Up presented by @Cisco 👇 pic.twitter.com/qQhJ4dWYRC
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) June 3, 2019
"I think the more weight you have, the more getting in and out of breaks becomes tougher," Welker said. "I love his size, and I love his physicality and everything, but we're still going to want to be able to use him on some of those plays where you really want him to get in and out of those breaks. The lighter you are when you're doing that, the better off you're going to be."
As for Hurd, the rookie has been missing some practice time as the 49ers ease him back into football shape. He injured his knee in Baylor's regular-season finale against Texas Tech and elected to undergo surgery on December 4.
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"He's been working hard," Welker said. "He's been a little banged up this spring, so it's more been about the mental part for him. He's missing out on a lot of reps out there right now. He's just got to get his body right and on top of that, just staying on top of the playbook just because he's not getting all those reps.
"Absolutely, with his size and his athleticism of being able to play running back, being able to play wide receiver, being able to do a lot of different things is a great matchup for us. But losing these reps and the different things we want to do with him, kind of sets him back. So he's got a lot of making up to do and a lot of work ahead of him to get caught up."
You can listen to the entire interview with Welker below.