Deebo Samuel, now in a slimming No. 1 jersey, stands out in 49ers' OTA practice

Source: The New York Times
Author: Matt Barrows

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Wearing No. 1 can be risky, Kyle Shanahan noted on Tuesday, but Deebo Samuel seems to be pulling it off.

The 49ers' wideout jumped out for several reasons during the team's second OTA practice of the spring, starting with the fact that he's ditched the No. 19 he's worn since entering the league in 2019 and has gone instead with his college digit, No. 1.

"I think 1 can be a risky number if you're not slim," Shanahan said about the number change. "But I think he came back and he looks really good in No. 1."

Samuel also was prominent on Tuesday due to his mere presence. Two of the team's other top wideouts, Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings, have not yet reported for the offseason program. Aiyuk is seeking a long-term extension that will make him one of the highest paid receivers in the league. Jennings has yet to sign his one-year restricted free agent tender and also is interested in a longer-term deal.

Their absences meant Samuel was Brock Purdy's favorite target, and he snagged several passes during Tuesday's session. He made one toe-tap grab at the sideline in front of new cornerback Isaac Yiadom. He had another against Rock Ya-Sin, who was a frequent opponent during Senior Bowl practices in 2019 when they were perhaps the top two players on the field.

Samuel, however, was victimized following a catch over the middle when safety George Odum poked the ball free and Yiadom gathered it up and ran in for a defensive touchdown.

Samuel's fitness has been a recurring theme since he arrived as a rookie. Back then, the 49ers wanted him around 212 pounds before eventually relenting and allowing him to play closer to 220 pounds. Last year, Samuel and Shanahan sat down in the head coach's office and went over film from the previous season.

Neither liked what they saw with Samuel calling his 2022 performance "awful" and his 2022 self "sluggish." He got into better shape for last year's training camp and seems to be moving around well now, too.

"So I'm excited for that and hope to keep it that way," Shanahan said. "I thought (No. 1) it was risky and he said it's gonna look good. And he's right so far."

The 49ers' practice lasted a little more than an hour, was run without roughly half the team's usual starters (more on that below) and mostly involved 7-on-7 situations. The team had one 11-on-11 session at the end that was run at half speed and without helmets. Here are some observations from the practice:

* Who's in Samuel's former jersey? No. 19 now belongs to receiver Trent Taylor, a 2017 49ers' draft pick who spent the last three seasons in Cincinnati and Chicago. San Francisco re-signed Taylor in the offseason, and he also was a frequent target on Tuesday, including on the longest completion of the day.

After the initial play broke down, Purdy drifted left along the line of scrimmage nearly to the sideline. With no defensive linemen on the field, he had time to spot Taylor on the other side of the field and launched a throw that just made it over a leaping, stretched-out Yiadom and into Taylor's hands. With no one else deep, Taylor ran untouched into the end zone.

* Purdy, Samuel and Nick Bosa, who wanted to meet the new defensive linemen the team added in the offseason, were the most prominent starters to take part in the voluntary practices.

Perhaps the most surprising absence was Christian McCaffrey. Not only was the NFL's 2023 rushing champion present for last year's sessions -- his first offseason with the team -- he seemed to be operating at full tilt in each of the sessions.

Shanahan said he wasn't worried about any of the absences, especially McCaffrey's given how hard he trains in the offseason.

"It's like everyone else," he said. "It is voluntary and I'm not too concerned about Christian."

* Several 49ers were seen working out on a side field as they return from injuries. That included safety Talanoa Hufanga, who appeared to be moving well -- and without any knee braces or sleeves -- following his Nov. 19 ACL tear.

Others who were either rehabilitating or who were observers only at practice were linebacker Fred Warner (not injured), center Jake Brendel (knee tendonitis), tight end George Kittle (core surgery), defensive end Drake Jackson (unknown) and tight end Cameron Latu (unknown).

* With Charvarius Ward working his way back from offseason core surgery, the 49ers' top two cornerbacks were Deommodore Lenoir and Ambry Thomas. In nickel situations, Lenoir moved inside and newcomer Yiadom entered as an outside cornerback.

The second-string corners were Samuel Womack III and another veteran newcomer,Ya Sin. Second-round draft pick Renardo Green played nickel cornerback with the second-team unit.

* The defensive players on the sideline erupted in cheers when Ya-Sin knocked a sideline pass away from rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall. The first-round pick, however, still had an impressive session that included a pair of catches against Thomas. On one of them, Pearsall went to the ground to dig out a pass in traffic. On another, he created plenty of space against Thomas on a comeback route. Both passes were thrown by Purdy.

Pearsall, Taylor and second-year player Tay Martin got a lot of snaps and seemed to benefit from Aiyuk's and Jennings' absences.

"He's done a good job," Purdy said of Pearsall. "He's come in, he's obviously learned the playbook, he's coming to work every day. We always like young guys that can come in and they're willing to do the dirty work - to learn, to start from the ground up. And he's done that. He's done everything right."

* With Brendel on the sideline, Jon Feliciano lined up at center during the brief sequence when the offensive and defensive lines were on the field. Nick Zakelj and undrafted rookie Drake Nugent played center with the second- and third-team offenses.

* A year ago, Purdy couldn't take part in the OTA practices because he was rehabilitating from elbow surgery. This year he took all the first-team reps with Brandon Allen and Joshua Dobbs splitting the second-team snaps. Allen, the incumbent, was first up in the rotation Tuesday although Dobbs had more passing attempts.

* Asked his opinion about the NFL moving to 18 games at some point, Purdy said he would hope that an extra contest came with some extra rest.

"If we're going to extend it another game, I think another bye would be nice," he said.

Bosa, meanwhile, took a long pause when asked about the possibility of 18 games.

"I don't know how many games we can possibly keep adding," he eventually said.

He said he thought the schedule was perfect when it was 16 games. Would 18 games work if there are two byes?

"But then we'd have to shorten the offseason program a little bit," he said.