The natural question whenever a new person enters our lives is to ask, who is that? Even casual fans of the Washington Football Team can skip that query with their team’s latest free-agent acquisition, Curtis Samuel.
Every fan linked the former Carolina Panthers wide receiver to the reigning NFC East champions because his former coach runs the show in Washington. Ron Rivera covets familiarity, and he helped the 2017 second-round pick develop as a threat before he was fired late in the 2019 season.
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Instead, focus on the why. Why did Washington want Samuel?
Actually, that’s not complicated either. The offense, while a step up from moribund preseason expectations, lacked a deep group of playmakers capable of running up the score last season, especially with limitations at quarterback. Samuel’s pure speed shifts expectations and possibilities.
That leads to the real question, the one scouts say gives defensive coordinators agita: In games, where is Samuel?
Rivera coveted additional speed for an offense that barely averaged more than 20 points per game, ranked 30th with 317 yards per game and could only consistently rely on Terry McLaurin among its wide receivers. Washington’s newest toy, a 24-year-old with booster rockets for legs whom Rivera tried to acquire before the trade deadline, is poised to provide that needed blast.
Scouts see the 5-foot-11, 195-pound “wide receiver” as a dynamic athlete with straight-line speed. Though he’s not a natural route-runner, his versatility creates game-planning havoc. Watching a magic act is entertaining, but it can be difficult to understand if there’s another illusionist involved.
“When you have Terry out there with his speed and his ability to get vertical very quickly, you have to honor it,” Rivera said last season. “You can’t add safeties into the run game consistently. You can’t drop these guys in to play the underneath coverage consistently knowing there’s that vertical threat.”
Teams also cannot shift their coverage toward Samuel. Coordinator Scott Turner, also in Carolina for part of Samuel’s tenure, runs an offense predicated on mismatches. That’s not just about individual talent. It’s about scheme and moveable pieces. Drafting Antonio Gibson in the third round a year ago was a nod toward achieving that flexibility. Seeking a comparison at the time for the college wide receiver-turned-pro running back, a member of Washington’s organization said, “Look at how Rivera used Curtis Samuel.”
In 2019, with Rivera as his coach, Samuel lined up in the slot on 31.6 percent of 958 snaps. He set career highs with 54 receptions, 677 yards and six touchdowns while running for 130 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
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As Washington pondered its offseason approach, it explored how another coaching staff used Samuel.
His sheer speed was a given. McLaurin, Gibson and Samuel all ran sub-4.4-second 40-yard times at the NFL combine, with Samuel setting the pace with a blistering 4.31 in 2017.
Although Rivera and Turner moved to Washington, general manager Marty Hurney remained in Carolina until his dismissal late last season. Under first-year head coach Matt Rhule and 31-year-old offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the Panthers used Samuel far less often and yet generated more production out of him.
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With more work in the slot — 399 out of 660 snaps, or 60.4 percent — Samuel established new personal bests with 77 receptions and 851 receiving yards, along with three touchdowns. Samuel also lined up in the backfield for 70 snaps and carried the ball 41 times for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
Though already a known commodity in Washington, that usage provided more strategic curiosity as the brain trust pondered its offseason plans. When free agency opened Wednesday afternoon, having already landed quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and cornerback William Jackson III, Washington agreed to terms with Samuel on a three-year deal worth $34.5 million with $23 million guaranteed.
Designing plays only goes so far, however. Washington’s quarterback play hampered the offense last season, particularly because Turner was forced to draw up plans with training wheels for Week 1 starter Dwayne Haskins. The greatest success occurred when Alex Smith played, but his compromised right leg and his general game-manager mindset curtailed any big-play ability.
Enter Fitzpatrick, a bona fide journeyman and certified gunslinger who will enter the offseason as the projected starter regardless of any competition talk. Signing the fearless 38-year-old puts the deep ball into the steady pass-play rotation. Washington now has the speed to make teams fear what happens when the passes fly.
The Washington Football Team brings in Ryan Fitzpatrick to potentially replace Alex Smith as their starting QB next season.
The two quarterbacks had drastically different play styles last season, as seen in the contrast between their passing tendencies. https://t.co/meoxRtT0mC pic.twitter.com/HjZ2nq6Fb6
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 16, 2021
Part of Carolina’s offensive success involved using Samuel with two solid wideouts in D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson as all-world running back Christian McCaffrey battled through an injury-plagued season. McLaurin was impressive during his first two seasons. Fellow wide receivers Cam Sims and Antonio Gandy-Golden provide sizable targets on the outside but offer thin resumes. Steven Sims Jr. was the primary slot receiver last season.
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Along with Gibson and running back J.D. McKissic, Samuel will allow Turner to live in the lab all offseason and morph into a mad scientist. Catching him is already challenging for mere mortals. Finding him play to play in Washington’s system might be the toughest act of all.
(Photo: Jeff Roberson / Associated Press)
