San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Deebo Samuel is known nearly as much for his ability running the ball as he is for his prowess catching the ball.
It’s one of the reasons that the All-Pro’s role in San Francisco is more as an “offensive weapon.” In fact, Samuel is just the second player in NFL history with 4,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards in his first five NFL seasons.
With his 49ers set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII Sunday afternoon, Sportsnaut was able to catch up with the star playmaker. We asked him who his inspiration was growing up. His response will surprise the masses.
“So, when I was young, I played running back all of the time. So, I used to watch Reggie Bush a lot. I don’t model my game after him. I just thought he was the best at the time, Samuel said.
Samuel’s response makes sense in that he’s just about as electric with the ball in his hands as Bush was during the running back’s time with the New Orleans Saints for the majority of his NFL career.
- Deebo Samuel stats (2023): 60 receptions, 892 yards, 225 rushing yards, 1,117 total yards, 11 TD
Out of Samuel’s 892 receiving yards this season, 527 came after the catch. That’s an average of 8.8 yards after the catch per reception. Absolutely insane stuff.
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Samuel will have to come up big if San Francisco is to avoid a minor upset in Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Chiefs. His partner in crime, Brandon Aiyuk, has a difficult matchup against Trent McDuffie in this one. It should afford Samuel ample opportunity to do his best Reggie Bush impersonation.