Deebo Samuel took something of a backseat to Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk in the ranks of focal points of the San Francisco 49ers' offense during the 2023 season.
But the league's most versatile wide receiver is the NFL's gold standard running a route that is the staple of Kyle Shanahan's attack.
While San Francisco's offense is evolving its dropback game as Shanahan's confidence in Brock Purdy continues to grow, it remains an attack built around an ability to dissect defenses over the middle of the field by getting receivers into open space on in-breaking routes.
Per Pro Football Focus, in the 2023 season there was no receiver in the NFL better at running the in route than Samuel.
PFF this week released data detailing which receiver had the highest grade on every specific route it charts.
Samuel was utterly dominant running the in last season. He averaged 5.36 yards per route run, finishing with 224 yards and a touchdown from 10 receptions on 14 targets on that route.
There was plenty of speculation over Samuel's future during the draft and, with the 49ers likely to hand Brock Purdy a lucrative extension, there is significant talk that 2024 could be his final season of his career with San Francisco.
The 49ers are seemingly well prepared for the departure of a wide receiver next offseason having drafted Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing.
However, Samuel boasts a unique skill set ideally suited to his role in the Shanahan offense and, if he does leave, it will be difficult for whoever steps up to fill the void to match his level of efficient production on in-breakers.
