San Francisco 49ers’ Day 2 Draft Picks Could Ease Burden On Deebo Samuel

Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch might not have planned on factoring the San Francisco 49ers’ stand-off with Deebo Samuel into their approach in the 2022 NFL Draft, but it was easy to assume they maybe made two of their day three choices with a view to lightening their star wide receiver’s load.

The Niners have stood firm in refusing to trade All-Pro Samuel despite his request to be dealt elsewhere. Speaking after day two of the draft, Shanahan—per Nick Wagoner of ESPN—said “nothing was even remotely close that we thought it would be fair for the Niners” when asked about trade offers for Samuel

There has been talk of Samuel’s request stemming from dissatisfaction with his usage in the 49er offense. Samuel appeared to relish being used as a ‘wide back’ last season, breaking an NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a wide receiver with eight as the Niners featured him heavily in the backfield in addition to lining him up as a wideout.

Per Wagoner, Samuel accounted for 28 percent of the Niners’ yards from scrimmage in 2021, the fourth-highest percentage of any player in the NFL.

But with usage out of the backfield comes concern over wear and tear for a player who has fought through injuries and endured durability issues in his career.

The Niners’ surprise selection of running back Tyrion Davis-Price with the 93rd overall pick could help San Francisco make the case to Samuel that he will not have to take as much punishment going forward.

Davis-Price is a physical back with impressive short-area burst—he had a 10-yard split of 1.53 seconds in pre-draft testing—who the Niners can use to try to wear down defenses as they have so often done with the run game.

The Niners followed up the pick of Davis-Price with the selection SMU receiver Danny Gray, whose speed can allow San Francisco to stretch the field vertically and divert attention away from Samuel in the passing game.

Gray ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds and racked up 22 receptions of 20 yards or more in his two seasons with SMU, averaging 16.4 yards per catch last season.

An ideal fit for the Niners in terms of what he can do after the catch, San Francisco will hope Gray can help open things up in the intermediate and underneath areas for a receiver in Samuel who may not have to take as much punishment if Davis-Price quickly becomes an asset on the ground.

Asked if the pair could lighten Samuel’s workload, Shanahan replied: “I think they both can [help do so]. But we felt that we needed another running back. We definitely thought that we would love to add a speed receiver. There’s lots of ways the draft could have gone but right there at those picks in the third round, we definitely thought it was best for our team.”

It is unlikely the Niners made those selections with a view towards pacifying Samuel, but if they do so and help break the deadlock between the two sides in their contract talks, San Francisco will see that as a significant bonus.