SANTA CLARA -- If Deebo Samuel is the wide receiver who can also be a game-changer at running back, his new 49ers teammate Christian McCaffrey is the opposite.
Samuel was out with a hamstring injury during the 49ers’ Week game against the Los Angeles Rams. Usually, Samuel is the player the Rams have an impossible time containing.
Two weeks ago, it was McCaffrey after just one full week of practice with his new team after coming over in a trade from the Carolina Panthers.
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McCaffrey is a running back who had a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. But it was a leaping touchdown grab from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo that was particularly impressive to Samuel.
“As you can see the way he went up for that ball against the Rams on the sideline showed me literally everything,” Samuel said.
Samuel pointed out that he already knew McCaffrey was good at making defenders miss. But his skill as a pass-catcher separates him from other running backs.
Also, Samuel loved to see McCaffrey’s penchant for stepping up in big spots. The game against the Rams was a huge one, and McCaffrey put together an all-around performance that earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
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“I was excited to see the team win and, most importantly, really to see what he’s capable of when our backs are against the wall, how he performs,” Samuel said. “He went out there and did a great job.”
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McCaffrey’s presence, along with Samuel, should provide coach Kyle Shanahan with a lot of options. Samuel is back at full practice and ready to team up with McCaffrey on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“It’s so crazy how much firepower we have on this offense now, adding him to the team along with all the other guys we got on our team,” Samuel said. “It’s going to get crazy. It’s going to be hard to cover everybody out there. It should be real fun.”