"Physical RB sized receiver with a lot of gears that was the best WR on the field at Senior Week practices. He's a safe bet to be a more consistently productive pro than college player."
Strengths:
Physical RB sized receiver with a lot of gears. Impressive burst and physicality off the line and threatens deep consistently. Deceptive quickness and cranks it up when he needs too.
Strong hands and makes a lot of catches in traffic. Flashes good blocking ability. Adept returner and experienced special teamer.
Weaknesses:
Concentration drops. More burst than pure speed. Height challenged. Motor can wane. Plagued by nagging injuries at South Carolina.
Overall:
Samuel is a big play guy that uses physicality and burst to excel with the ball in his hands. He's comfortable in a crowd and can make the clutch grab or break a key tackle. He's got solid foot quickness and deceptive ability in his routes. He tends to pick and choose his spots to turn up however.
He was one of the most dominant players at senior week practice in Mobile but wasn't as consistently dominant over his college career. Demonstrates good hands but suffers a fare share of drops.
Samuel reminds me a little of Stefon Diggs coming out of Maryland. Diggs had flashed dominance but injuries slowed him down and affected his draft stock. Samuel doesn't quite have that elite quickness Diggs displayed but his big play speed and physical play style could make him a more consistently productive pro than college player.
NFL Comp: faster Golden Tate