Curtis Samuel is Turning Into Mr. Reliable
Even with a 5-10 record, the Carolina Panthers have one of the best trios of wide receivers in the NFL. DJ Moore and Robby Anderson are both over 1,000 yards for the season and Curtis Samuel is 70 yards away from 1,000 all-purpose yards.
Moore and Anderson get the most national attention and rightfully so, but Samuel may be the most valuable piece of the three because of his versatility and reliability. With the Panthers being a bit shorthanded at the running back position this season, Samuel has lined up in the backfield at running back and been handed the ball 38 times for 197 yards and two touchdowns.
As impressive as his versatility is, his jump in production at receiver is what is eye-popping. Throughout the first three years of his career, Samuel had a catch percentage of 56.3 which is certainly underwhelming. This season, he has made a significant jump up to 81.4% which ranks 2nd among receivers in the NFL behind only Keke Coutee of the Houston Texans.
Panthers' quarterback Teddy Bridgewater talked about Samuel's breakout season and how excited he is for him to have the success that he is having.
"He does a good job of seeing the ball into the tuck, he squares the ball up well, and he also just has a good feel for the defense. He's out there maneuvering through the zone coverages, setting up different routes vs man, he's winning his one on one matchups. I'm excited for him that he's having a career-high in receiving yards and to go from 50% to 80%, that's a huge jump and that's a testament to his hard work."
When you have a guy that is catching 81% of his targets, he typically becomes your go-to guy in clutch situations and that's exactly what Samuel has become. He may not be the 6'4", 220-pound possession receiver that many teams like to go to in 3rd down situations, but he gets the job done. As soon as it gets to 3rd and medium or 3rd and long, Samuel tends to be the first read more often than not. He makes all the routine catches and makes the tough catches look routine.
Head coach Matt Rhule said earlier this week that Samuel is exactly the kind of player that he likes to coach and he also spoke on his dependability.
"He's everything that I like in a football player. He's dynamic, he's athletic, he's explosive. But he's also tough, dependable, works hard, can be corrected, can be coached, really low-maintenance, great teammate, he's a football player. I can't say enough good things about Curtis.
"I think he's gone from being sort of an outside receiver to an all-purpose, all over the field type of guy. As I've said all year, he makes all the blocks, catches the ball, controls the middle of the field, runs the football, catches the ball out of the backfield. He's so tremendously versatile that people have a hard time distinguishing what personnel we are in. Are they in three receivers or two backs because of his ability to do both. I just think he's a dynamic player and is really dependable as well. I think he's tremendously reliable for us."
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