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Jaylen Samuels - Steelers RB/TE Hybrid - Dynasty (1 Viewer)

I'm not sure his footwork/cuts really look good enough to be a full-time RB. I don't really know what he is. He's a good athlete, but kind of a tweener. Not tall enough to play TE. Too heavy to play WR. Not really quick/elusive enough to play RB. I think his best chance for FF value is to have TE designation, but to be used as sort of a hybrid TE/slot/RB/FB who does a little bit of everything. A few cheap catches and rushing attempts per week would go a long way.

You can look at the versatility as a positive or a negative. The NFL has probably underrated some guys like Sproles, MJD, and Tyreek in the past because of their atypical dimensions and skill set. On the other hand, they let this guy fall to the late 5th with no major character stuff and that doesn't scream optimism. I think he's a sensible gamble at his modest rookie draft ADP, but I'm skeptical of him being the next LeVeon. The Ty Montgomery comparison that someone else dropped earlier might be more apt. Both guys are good athletes, but neither really has obvious every down RB ability (IMO).

 
EBF said:
I'm not sure his footwork/cuts really look good enough to be a full-time RB. I don't really know what he is. He's a good athlete, but kind of a tweener. Not tall enough to play TE. Too heavy to play WR. Not really quick/elusive enough to play RB. I think his best chance for FF value is to have TE designation, but to be used as sort of a hybrid TE/slot/RB/FB who does a little bit of everything. A few cheap catches and rushing attempts per week would go a long way.

You can look at the versatility as a positive or a negative. The NFL has probably underrated some guys like Sproles, MJD, and Tyreek in the past because of their atypical dimensions and skill set. On the other hand, they let this guy fall to the late 5th with no major character stuff and that doesn't scream optimism. I think he's a sensible gamble at his modest rookie draft ADP, but I'm skeptical of him being the next LeVeon. The Ty Montgomery comparison that someone else dropped earlier might be more apt. Both guys are good athletes, but neither really has obvious every down RB ability (IMO).
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I'm seeing close to elite footwork/cuts. It may or may not be on traditional runs, but Samuels has outstanding feet/cutting ability at the very least, IMO.

I believe the play at about 5:55 will translate. That's some sweet agility & Samuels has many displays of similar footwork/cuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXsnLbtGZXM

 
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EBF said:
Good athlete, but I don't think he's a good enough runner to be a starting RB in the NFL. If he can't block then he can't play TE full-time and he's too big to be a WR. I like his talent, but he'll be reliant on a creative OC to get the most out of him because he doesn't have a real position. If it were me I'd try to use him like Hernandez or Reed. He's not as shifty in space, but he's a comparable athlete.
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Too bad Todd Haley wasn't retained as OC for Steelers.  I really did believe his play-calling was great especially with great offensive weapons at his disposal.  For whatever reason, he wasn't retained and Steelers went with a new OC.  Thus, Randy Fichtner got his work cut out as new OC. 

Back to Samuels, I do like his talent but just not sure how would Steelers envision him in their offensive schemes.  Probably a multiple purpose player as similarly seen in Ty Montgomery but he still remains unproven as every down RB.

 
EBF said:
I'm not sure his footwork/cuts really look good enough to be a full-time RB. I don't really know what he is. He's a good athlete, but kind of a tweener. Not tall enough to play TE. Too heavy to play WR. Not really quick/elusive enough to play RB. I think his best chance for FF value is to have TE designation, but to be used as sort of a hybrid TE/slot/RB/FB who does a little bit of everything. A few cheap catches and rushing attempts per week would go a long way.

You can look at the versatility as a positive or a negative. The NFL has probably underrated some guys like Sproles, MJD, and Tyreek in the past because of their atypical dimensions and skill set. On the other hand, they let this guy fall to the late 5th with no major character stuff and that doesn't scream optimism. I think he's a sensible gamble at his modest rookie draft ADP, but I'm skeptical of him being the next LeVeon. The Ty Montgomery comparison that someone else dropped earlier might be more apt. Both guys are good athletes, but neither really has obvious every down RB ability (IMO).
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How much of that is actually him not having a position in the past dedicating his time to perfecting his craft though?  I'd say nobody really knows the answer to that, and since the Steelers view him as a RB, I'd say him putting the time into one position is a positive.  He's definitely a hard one to project with that tweener role he played in college like you mentioned, but the Steelers morphed Bell into the RB he is now, and a good track record in using RB's to their potential, so color me optimistic about Samuels' chances.  I'd like it even more if Kirby Wilson was still the coach but hey, to each their own.  

 
Football Jones said:
That could potentially be a significant advantage.
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Probably not for this season, where he's unlikely to see much work behind Bell. Without a true role he's unlikely to see enough production to be an asset even at TE. If Bell was injured and he became the feature back, then yes it would. 

 
Dr. Octopus said:
Probably not for this season, where he's unlikely to see much work behind Bell. Without a true role he's unlikely to see enough production to be an asset even at TE. If Bell was injured and he became the feature back, then yes it would. 
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Yeah, the reason I included the word 'potentially' in my post is the upside if something happens to Bell

 
 Any of you re-drafters considering adding this guy late draft after acquiring Bell????

I'm likely to end up with a top pick in one of my re-draft leagues, and I like the idea of "locking up one backfield" generally on my rosters. I have been eying McKinnon/Breida when appropriate, but if I get an early pick, I am liking Bell more than a few of the other top RBs.  

The handcuffs are pretty clear in most other RB cases, but there are still some James Conner "possibilities" here.  Presumably we know more in the next couple of weeks once the preseason starts.

I was just wondering if any or you re-drafters were picking this guy up as a flyer/handcuff after drafting Bell.

 TZM

 
"There are three things that can happen when you throw a pass, and two of them are bad."

There is really no rule that NFL teams need to run on early downs  AFAIK NFL Teams appear to be becoming more knowledgeable and privy to well-documented football analysis  Which is to say running on 1st down for some Teams at least can just be bad  Now the Steelers have a healthy OLine  But if defenses must start prepping more to defend early down passing?  Samuels seems like the type of back to make em pay  Now maybe some saying Detroit's already tried it that it doesn't work  (fwiw) I believe Detroit is the only team w two 1K receivers too

“Definitely an opportunity [there’s] more reps for me being able to display my skills, earn some respect from the players and from the coaches,” Samuels said of Bell’s absence. https://www.steelersdepot.com/2018/07/steelers-rookie-rb-jaylen-samuels-believes-his-physicality-is-definitely-underrated/

Heres more info on 1st down passing  Guys sitting hear scratching your head about abilities between the tackles?  Good it starts off kinda cute too because their referencing Gurley  "Ultimately, this means fewer rushing attempts in general."  http://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/blog/2018/lack-of-evolution-on-first-down-running-backs-including-gurley-should-run-less

I'm not really posting this for a fact as in something I totally believe is or will be happening  I just care to make sure that some are well aware of this stance, especially fans of Samuels... Matter of fact to some extent I hope its just hogwash because I love me some Jordan Howard whose primarily known more for just running the ball  Seems funny to post though because I was a fan of passing when there seemed to be only three or four QB's who really passed the ball much or maybe I should say good enough to enjoy!  Really just watching the NFL and how it works Odds are we see some Teams rushing the ball because most Teams don't even if passing where to increase  Call it tradition or just some Teams unable to make the proper adjustments 

 
RushHour said:
This guy is my favourite later round rookie pick stash. Plenty of upside here if the Steelers see the possibilities. 
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He seems to be more of a gadget guy for now. If Lev went down, Conner would be the main beneficiary.

 
steelers1080 said:
He seems to be more of a gadget guy for now. If Lev went down, Conner would be the main beneficiary.
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Yep.  Also read he's been having trouble early in camp with pass protection.   Until he improves at PP I doubt he replaces Connor or Ridley at RB.  

 
Buttonhook said:
Yep.  Also read he's been having trouble early in camp with pass protection.   Until he improves at PP I doubt he replaces Connor or Ridley at RB.  
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I'm not talking so much about him playing a traditional RB role or replacing those guys. I'm hoping they can be a bit creative and use him in positions where he doesn't necessarily need to be good at pass protection. He's more of a WR/TE hybrid anyway. 

 
JoeSteeler said:
You have a link for that? I read the opposite a couple weeks ago.
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Tomlin made Samuels take five consecutive, unsuccessful turns during the team’s “backs on backers” drill in which a running back or tight end attempts to pick up a blitzing linebacker.

www.timesonline.com/sports/20180731/steelers-rbs-james-conner-jaylen-samuels-making-reps-count
 

 
I was listening to a radio show today from Steelers training camp and Matt Williamson said he wasn't too worried about Samuels poor blocking at this point because he was never asked to do it in college - said blocking is all about attitude so he should eventually be fine.  Williamson also said he doesn't see Samuels as an eventual replacement for Bell or anything like that.  For this year he hopes the Steelers will use Samuels at the same time as Bell at times - one scenario he suggested was using AB, JuJu, Bell, MacDonald and Samuels to have a better chance at creating mismatches.  If the defense uses "heavy" personnel they would have mismatches everywhere by splitting everyone out wide.  If the defense uses dime or nickel they could (in theory) have an advantage in the running game.  Would be interesting to see that player grouping at times.

 
I just picked him up as the Bell thinkg is starting to blow up now with teamm mates throwing him under the bus publicly. I have Gronk at TE, and dont carry a backup TE, so he serves the purpose of a bye week fill in TE with prospects to carry the ball for Pitt if Conner goes down. I like it

Man, after I saw the college film I really like this guy. If something were to happen to Connor with his pass catching and RB ability he could be the only TE to actually outscore Gronk consistently each week.

Worth the stash IMO.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58KXly1PdBM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1HGHiaNsl4

He can definitely catch in PPR and looks good running the ball. Ther is also a chance he could get opps as A TE/fullback.

SO bottom line he should get backup RB carries automatically with Bell out, then he also has opps from gadget type plays and TE H-back/fullback formation type plays, and if Connor goes down he could take over RB1 duties. Not a lot of TEs on the WW have that kind of potential upside.

 
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More a yahoo question than anything - say Bell holds out, and then Conner misses time for injury or something.  Samuels becomes the "starting" RB, will yahoo change his designation, or will he be rb/te all year?

 
matttyl said:
More a yahoo question than anything - say Bell holds out, and then Conner misses time for injury or something.  Samuels becomes the "starting" RB, will yahoo change his designation, or will he be rb/te all year?
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Yahoo never changes the designation until the following year. This has happened with Colston WR/TE and Ty Montgomery RB/WR in the past. The following year they changed to WR and RB respectively. It is a huge advantage to hold Colston in the TE spot and Ty in the WR (when he was the starting RB) spot for obvious reasons.

 
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mnmplayer said:
Yahoo never changes the designation until the following year. This has happened with Colston WR/TE and Ty Montgomery RB/WR in the past. The following year they changed to WR and RB respectively.
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Thanks.  I think it happened with Joe Webb (as a QB) in the past, but didn't know if they changed their ways since then.

 
matttyl said:
Thanks.  I think it happened with Joe Webb (as a QB) in the past, but didn't know if they changed their ways since then.
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YEah I have heard all the arguments for both sides and Yahoo takes the stance that they do not change positional designations mid year.

 
Hankmoody said:
Those Syracuse highlights are probably the best examples of what I saw.  He wasn't the most electrifying figure around, but he sets up his blocks really well and has good spacial awareness, balance, and ball skills - I really like 3:30 where he starts his 180 to get upfield just as the ball gets there.  That can be a recipe for drops but it takes pretty special space/hand/eye to be able to even pull it off.  Because he was able to do it, he ended up a 1/2 step ahead of a tackler and picked up about 70 yards he wouldn't have otherwise.  6:50 is another example - he is patient and a massive cutback opens up that he takes in for a TD, and I'm reminded of an infamous TRich play with the Raiders where a nearly identical play happens - the entire left side just collapses inside on him and he's got about a 10-yard gap but instead he goes right and dives into the pile for a 2 yard gain.

Samuels reminds me at times of DJ and Bell with clearly less natural athleticism but a lot of the same football skills in terms of balance, patience, vision, cutting.  He ran a 4.54 though with a 6.93 3-cone so maybe he just hasn't put it all together yet - DJ 4.50/6.82 and Bell 4.60/6.75 so he's in the neighborhood.
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Yep. Samuels is what I call a natural runner. He's also got outstanding feet & elite pass-catching skills.

I've seen comments that he's not a legit RB prospect, but I couldn't disagree more. Here's a clip of him in preseason against pros, albeit backups. This cat is a RB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfQZRZrs3Eg (sorry, just saw where SSND posted the same vid earlier in the thread).

Conner looks like their feature back for now if Bell holds out, & he's looked good, but I prefer Samuels long-term. It's now extremely unlikely Bell will be on their roster next season so the Steelers' feature back job will be up for grabs in 2019.

 
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I like Samuels a lot too but realistically for this year he probably won't become the feature back even if Bell and Conner are unavailable.  In that scenario Samuels would split time with S. Ridley but he would probably get the passing down work.

 
He's too small to play TE... plus, the Steelers immediately said they were going to play him at RB... literally right after they drafted him in their press conference following the draft pick they said he was an RB.  Pretty much zero chance he plays TE.

ETA: @Scooby1974 

 
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He is out there in my 12 team .5/pt/PPR league with return yards where I have OJ Howard and Eifert at TE....so I was tempted and hoping they might slot him in for those junk yards.

 
ponchsox said:
Listed as a RB/TE on Yahoo, this could be interesting if Bell misses multiple games
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He is in the radar (as someone who waited on a Te and is possibly streaming)

 
matttyl said:
More a yahoo question than anything - say Bell holds out, and then Conner misses time for injury or something.  Samuels becomes the "starting" RB, will yahoo change his designation, or will he be rb/te all year?
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I know this isn't really your question, but it's related....Until Bell joins the Steelers, Steven Ridley has a roster spot and likely would start ahead of Samuels, based on everything I saw in preseason.  

 
Weebs210 said:
*if Bell doesn't report by Saturday* starting him over Seals, Vannett, OJ Howard, Gesicki. Don't @ me.
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I think he could get some touches. The depth chart I saw had Samuels over Ridley.

Even if Ridley is technically the backup, Samuels could get some PT in the passing game. They might have some Joker packages for him or something. Samuels is a very difficult matchup for LBs if they're forced to cover him. Samuels is one of the better pass-catching backs I've ever scouted. Right up there with DJ.

It'll be interesting to see if Samuels gets touches & what he can do. I really like his long-term outlook with Bell probably playing elsewhere next season.

 
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I still own him in one of my leagues, but had no problem cutting him in another.  I was unimpressed when I seen him play.  I thought he looked like a bigger version of James White.  I just don't see a scenario where a team would feature him.  I could be wrong, but I felt a lot more comfortable keeping Jalen Richard who hasn't done anything to this point in his career.  It wouldn't shock me if Oakland gave Richard a role similar to Chris Thompson's in Washington.  I just don't see the same happening for Samuels even in the absence of Bell. 

 
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