San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel showed off his versatility in 2021, also lining up at running back throughout the season. He flourished coming out of the backfield, recording an impressive 365 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 59 carries, adding 137 more rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the playoffs. His eight regular-season rushing touchdowns set an NFL single-season record for the most by a receiver.
Some wonder if the wear and tear from carrying the football as a running back will impact Samuel's NFL longevity. Samuel doesn't sound too worried, though.
"Me and Kyle (Shanahan) actually had this talk," Samuel said on Tuesday during a Q&A session presented by Fanatics. "Being a wideout and a running back, it really didn't take a toll on my body as [much] as people say. Why? Because it's only a certain amount of running plays I have a game, which it kind of seems like a lot because I have the ball a lot. But it's really not that many plays.
"After the game, I don't be too much sore or bruised up. It's not that much of a [burden] on your body as people think."
Samuel admits that finding a player willing to play both wide receiver and running back is rare. However, once he started doing it, it felt natural.
"I felt kind of natural back there because all my life, I was a running back until getting to college," Samuel shared.
Samuel's head coach, Kyle Shanahan, doesn't envision his star player's role changing much in 2022. Although, Shanahan acknowledged that the 49ers have to be careful with how they deploy Samuel.
"I see [his role next season] as very similar," Shanahan said in February. "I mean, we've got to be careful with that. Running back is different, but he's also built like a running back and runs like a running back. He just happens to do stuff a receiver also does really good. If you look at his body, he looks more like a running back. But we never want to stop using him at receiver.
"And it's just the threat that he can be a running back at any time is a huge advantage for your team, and it's a huge advantage for Deebo too. It's a way he can make sure that he gets touches. You can do that at receiver but not like when you can just hand the ball to a guy. So, we've always got to keep that threat. That's what separates him. Deebo knows that too."
Samuel is preparing to enter his fourth NFL season and is eligible for a contract extension. In 2021, he showed why he deserves to be among the top-paid receivers in the NFL, recording 1,770 all-purpose yards and 14 total touchdowns. The campaign earned the receiver his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections.
San Francisco made Samuel a second-round draft pick out of South Carolina in 2019.