49ers’ Deebo Samuel has already put his ‘awful’ 2022 well behind him

Niners star Deebo Samuel hated what he did in 2022. Speaking to reporters in June, the wideout harshly criticized his play last season, calling it “awful” in “every aspect.”

Through three games this season, Samuel has been anything but. His Week 3 performance against the Giants on Thursday (six receptions for 129 yards and one touchdown) continued an early stretch of offensive dominance that has been streets ahead of what he put out in 2022.

A cursory glance at his highlights from the 30-12 win is impressive in its own right, but doesn’t necessarily show anything that fans didn’t already believe Samuel was capable of before. The player has proven he’s a shifty athletic talent who’s capable of turning an ordinary 5-yard dump-off into a 20-plus-yard gain because of his ability to rack up yards after the catch.

In the first half, for instance, Samuel turned a bubble screen 3 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a 3rd-and-15 into a 30-yard gain just by simply being faster than everyone on the Giants’ defense. 

If that play gets called through any other player on any other team, it’d be considered a white flag on the drive, with the goal to just give the punter better field position. With Samuel on the Niners, it’s a potential scoring threat.

But what really separates this season from last season for Samuel, even if it’s just through three games, is how much better he looks on the field. That was the main focus of self-criticism the player gave during the offseason.

“Just going through the tape, it was, ‘Look how sluggish and, like, how bad you look on tape,’” Samuel said.

“I’ll never put nothing on tape like that again,” he added.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has even taken notice of the improvement, and taken it upon himself to spout the cliches regarding Samuel’s conditioning.

“He’s in much better condition,” Shanahan told reporters Tuesday. “He had a much better training camp. He was able to get through it all and get better throughout it. … He’s in the best shape, doesn’t have to come out as much, doesn’t have to take as many plays off and is playing as good as I’ve seen him play.”

Even when Samuel wasn’t catching the ball, or receiving the end-around, he really showed off just how in shape he was. The most notable example came in the first quarter when, while trying to stop a potential interception thrown by 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, Samuel absolutely leveled Giants inside linebacker Bobby Okereke.

Of course, it also showed up in the more traditional aspects of Samuel’s game. He looked as agile as ever dancing through four tackles for a 40-yard gain, as dedicated as ever risking injury on a short pass that he turned into a 19-yard reception, and as talented as ever using his footwork to secure his one touchdown of the night.

It’s worth noting that this touchdown came just a few plays after Samuel was down on the field for an injury. He came back as if he never left, which his quarterback couldn’t have been happier about.

“I can just throw it and look away, because I know Deebo will come down with it,” Purdy said after the game. “He’s special. Give him the ball in space, and see what he does, pulling defenders and everything. He’s awesome.”

That’s the least Purdy could say after Samuel helped him throw his first career 300-yard game in the regular season, and helped San Francisco secure its second 3-0 start in five years. The Niners will certainly hope this form continues so they can accomplish so much more.