Here we go again. The NFL’s carousel of breakups rages on once more. ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported that San Francisco 49ers wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, is frustrated with the team and wants to be traded. It’s another subplot added to the 2022 NFL Draft and, though the 49ers don’t have to trade away Samuel, the likelihood is that they would trade him for picks in this year’s draft.
According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Samuel’s frustration with the team stems from his use as a running back-wide receiver hybrid, as he wants to be utilized in a more traditional wide receiver role.
Here are 5 potential suitors who could pony up the draft capital to make a Deebo trade happen.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints fit the bill perfectly. Draft capital? Check. A position of need? Check. It would have been even more of an optimal fit had Sean Payton still been the head coach, but that’s neither here nor there now. What matters is that New Orleans should be in hot pursuit of Samuel. They haven’t been a team mentioned frequently, but let’s make a case.
Their wide receiver depth chart has a lot of question marks surrounding it at the moment, starting at the top with Michael Thomas. Now, don’t get it twisted, Thomas is a talented receiver when he’s healthy. In fact, it’s easy to call him one of the best receivers in the NFL. But there’s a catch: Thomas has only played seven games in the last two years. We haven’t seen him on the field since December 2020. He could easily pick up from where he left off but it’s highly unlikely. Regression seems inevitable.
The depth chart after Thomas is just as iffy. Marquez Callaway could grow into a good Z receiver but Tre’Quan Smith has dealt with nagging injuries of his own and the talent mostly just falls off after that. New Orleans could, and likely will draft a receiver in the first round of the draft – they’ve definitely leveraged themselves into that position, at least. But, why not package one of those picks into trading for Samuel?
He’d immediately add some juice to a depleted skill position and would give Jameis Winston another top receiving option to work with. Plus, if Peter Carmichael Jr., the new Saints offensive coordinator wants to take some pages from his predecessor’s playbook, he could utilize Samuel in some pretty funky ways.
Kansas City Chiefs
One wonders how much the trade of Tyreek Hill hurt the Chiefs’ offense. Hill, like Samuel, is a one-of-one talent with generational deep speed and the ability to score from anywhere on the field, but at the end of the day, he might end up missing Patrick Mahomes more than Mahomes will miss him. The downgrade from Mahomes to Tua Tagovailoa – a quarterback not exactly suited to expunging Hill’s freaky talent – is too significant.
The Chiefs’ receiving room isn’t as talented without Hill, but they’ve added some intriguing options in the offseason. Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling both have the chance to become key contributors, but neither will likely take the mantle of WR1. Kansas City has the option of picking up a receiver in the late first round to replace Hill – and to be perfectly honest, it might make more sense than trading for Samuel.
They might have just traded away Hill because they couldn’t agree on a long-term deal with him, which points toward the front office not wanting to pay Hill the money he wanted. Would they suddenly be willing to pay big money to Samuel – who is a free agent at the end of the season – while also giving up draft capital to acquire him? Hard to say.
However, the Chiefs want to win Super Bowls and it’s no secret that wide receivers have been a fundamental part of Super Bowl-winning teams over the last few years. And putting Samuel in an offense run by Andy Reid with Mahomes and Travis Kelce in it is a recipe for success.
New York Jets
You’ll always be in the mix when you have two picks in the top 10 and the Jets hold the 4th and 10th overall picks in the 2022 NFL Draft. That’s an enticing option for the 49ers as a trade partner, but also potentially rich for a player with just one year left on his deal who wants mega-money. Still, the Jets make a lot of sense.
The current offensive coordinator, Mike LaFleur worked closely with Samuel in San Francisco as the team’s wide receiver coach and passing game coordinator from 2017 to 2020. If anyone would be willing to build around him as a traditional wide receiver, it’s probably the coach that helped nurture him in his early years.
Also, the Jets would love to add a top receiver to the roster to help out Zach Wilson in his sophomore season. Year one was a struggle for the 2nd overall pick in 2021, but he’s shown flashes of a quarterback that can drag himself out of the mud thanks to his arm strength and ability to play out of structure. But he’ll need the talent around him to make it happen.
The Jets have already committed to building an offensive line for Wilson in free agency, but what a message trading for an elite receiver like Samuel would send. It would mean the Jets are all-in on helping Wilson become the guy. Pair him with Elijah Moore and Corey Davis, and you have one of the better receiving corps in the entire league.
Houston Texans
No, really. Hear me out. At some point or another, the Texans have to do something. It’s true that the team is…lightyears away from competing for a Super Bowl. The roster is severely lacking talent from top to bottom and the franchise has been poorly run for a while. It’s hard to see them going anywhere fast.
Houston has two first-round picks in 2022 (3 and 13) and will likely use them to draft some young players who could develop into franchise cornerstones. But, what if they were able to use a second-round pick (and more) to leverage San Francisco into a deal while managing to keep hold of their first-round picks? It would be a phenomenal piece of business that isn’t too far fetched.
The 49ers will likely receive better offers, but it makes a lot of sense for the Texans. They add an elite young receiver along with Brandin Cooks to help Davis Mills and they re-sign Samuel to a long-term deal, making him a Texan for the next four or five years. They’re also able to use those first-round picks to bolster the offensive line, retool the defense, or even add another receiver.
It’s the hope that kills you, but it’s a sign of hope and better things to come for fans of a franchise that just needs…something. Anything.
Miami Dolphins
A few weeks ago, there was talk that the Miami Dolphins could trade for Deebo Samuel. In the end, they ended up trading for Tyreek Hill and paying him a monster deal. But there were still rumblings that the Dolphins could make a move for Samuel. Eventually, the talk around Samuel leaving the 49ers went cold. For the time being.
Now that the news is official, surely the Dolphins are still worth consideration – even without the picks this year to get a deal done. The 49ers would have to wait a year to reap the benefits of any deal, but it could help financially down the line if they have to re-sign Trey Lance to a big deal. By then, they would still have a – potentially good – player on a rookie contract for another year. It’s more of a long-term investment for the 49ers.
For the Dolphins, however, it’s an investment for both the now and the future. Samuel has already worked with Mike McDaniel in San Francisco. If Samuel wants to be a traditional wide receiver, McDaniel will know how to utilize him best. And he’ll play alongside Hill and Jaylen Waddle to form, maybe, the most dynamic wide receiver trio in NFL history. All three have the potential to score from any position on the field and can ruin defenses after the catch.
McDaniel likely wants to aide Tagovailoa as much as he can and acquiring players who are great after the catch is an ideal formula. This made sense before the Dolphins acquired Hill, and it makes sense now. And usually, there’s no smoke without fire.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @ThomasValenfine
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