Curtis Samuel has been far from a bad player throughout his professional career, but he perhaps hasn’t reached the heights initially projected for him as a second-round draft pick.
Praised for his speed and versatility coming out of Ohio State, Samuel has been little more than an occasionally productive complementary piece throughout his seven-year NFL stint. He’s never sniffed 1,000 receiving yards, though this may be more so an indictment on his surroundings than it is on Samuel himself; he’s played for the Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders as a professional, never being afforded consistent quarterback play or offensive coaching.
The only offensive coordinator who was able to truly tap into Samuel’s potential was Joe Brady, who called Carolina’s offense in the 2020 NFL season. Samuel constructed his most productive professional season under Brady, totaling 1,051 scrimmage yards and five total touchdowns.
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The coordinator was the first (and, thus far, only) play-caller to make the most of Samuel’s versatility as both a pass catcher and ball carrier; the speedy receiver took 70 snaps from the backfield throughout the 2020 campaign, which remains a career-high by a significant margin.
Samuel and Brady seemingly developed a mutual adoration and respect throughout their sole season together, as the 27-year-old wideout opted to reunite with his former coordinator upon hitting free agency this spring. He inked a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills, joining forces with Brady and the best quarterback he’s ever shared the field with as a professional in Josh Allen.
Samuel projects as a significant offensive contributor in a revamped Buffalo aerial attack that parted ways with Gabriel Davis and perennial Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs in the offseason. The team figures to lean on Samuel in addition to rookie Keon Coleman and third-year contributor Khalil Shakir for receiving corps production amid the turnover, with Samuel widely viewed as a potential breakout candidate thanks to his past experience with Brady.
And this idea is rooted in justifiable optimism, as Brady plans to immediately utilize Samuel similarly to how he used him in Carolina. During a recent appearance on the Centered on Buffalo podcast, Brady stated that he envisions the receiver contributing to the offense in a myriad of ways.
“Hopefully a little bit of everything,” Brady said when asked what the Buffalo faithful can expect to see from Samuel this season. “So excited to get Curtis back, I only had him for one year and he kind of just did this [ascended] the entire year. The one year that I had him, it was COVID year, so I didn’t get to really do much with him in the offseason. Met him for the first time in training camp. Just kind of get a feel for what he can do, we just basically played him at wide receiver to start, gave him some carries at running back, and then Week 2 of my first year, Christian McCaffrey got hurt.
“Then it was just like, okay, we had good running backs on the roster, but it was like, how can I get this guy involved? He just took it and kind of ran with it. Incredible blocker, can play on the outside, play on the inside, move him around. As fast as he can be, just get the ball in his hands and good things happen whether he’s playing receiver or whether he’s playing running back, it doesn’t really matter. His versatility will be an asset to [our] offense.”
Given his talent, prospective role, and familiarity with Brady, Samuel could realistically set new career highs in all significant statistics this season. He’ll have to compete for targets with the likes of Coleman, Shakir, and second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid, but he seems a sure bet to have a defined role—after all, his offensive coordinator is already dreaming up ways to get the ball into his hands.
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