NFL free agency moves have been coming in droves, so much so that some signings and trades have flown under the radar. Curtis Samuel joining the Buffalo Bills qualifies as one such development.
The veteran wide receiver signed a three-year, $24 million deal to reunite with offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who served the same role with the Carolina Panthers in 2020 and 2021. Brady and Samuel were together in Carolina for just the 2020 season, but that was Samuel’s best as a pro, when he finished with a career-high 77 catches and 851 yards to go with three touchdowns.
This was a signing the Bills had to make. They had already lost Gabe Davis to the Jacksonville Jaguars and don’t have much in their receiving room outside of Stefon Diggs and Khalil Shakir. Samuel is a very dynamic and versatile player who can line up anywhere on the field. He will be a solid weapon for Josh Allen and the Bills. But how he fits warrants a grade and further analysis of the signing.
Gabe Davis and Curtis Samuel are very different, the latter a more well-rounded player who can help Buffalo in ways Davis never did. The data backs it up.
Davis was mostly a field stretcher for the Bills and relied a bit too much on Allen looking for him deep. His average depth of target was 15 yards downfield, according to playerprofiler.com, ranking eighth among all wide receivers. In 2022, Davis’ average depth of target was 15.2 yards and the year prior it was 13.4. Going deep is seemingly the only arrow Davis has in his quiver.
That led to some big games from Davis. No one can forget the 201 yard, four-touchdown game he put up against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 Divisional Round. But his style of game and role in Buffalo’s offense also led to some duds.
Davis had more games with zero yards (four) in Buffalo than he did with 100 yards (three). Because he wasn’t able to punish defenses in different ways, it allowed them to take away Davis as a deep threat and send help on Diggs to make sure he didn’t burn them, either.
Things should be different now with Samuel in his spot. Davis had a 53.8% success rate vs. man coverage in 2023, as noted by Matt Harmon of Yahoo! Sports. That ranked below the 31st percentile in his database. Samuel’s, however, finished in the 88th percentile against man coverage last season.
After signing for the Bills, the star went on to make a striking interview that amused fans
In conclusion, he said, “Ready to be a part of something special”