Samuel's final year in San Francisco was a disaster, featuring career lows for receiving yards per game (44.7) and yards per carry (3.2) as he lost eight TDs and 311 yards from scrimmage compared to 2023, despite playing the same number of games (15). Per usual, he fought through injuries in a bunch of those games, with a mid-season bout of pneumonia being the only thing that limited his snap shares (and only for two weeks). While clearly still among the toughest and most physical players at his position, Samuel looked a half-step slower in 2024 and didn't break tackles as frequently as he had in 2021-23. It's certainly possible his physical playing style and history of nagging injuries has led to earlier-than-usual physical decline, but the Commanders apparently don't think so, having fully guaranteed Samuel's $17 million salary for the final year of his contract (after trading a fifth-round pick for him). It's an interesting fit both for real life and fantasy, putting the 29-year-old dual threat with an offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury) who loves WR screens and a quarterback (Jayden Daniels) whose running ability will discourage defenses from crashing down on Samuel when he's deployed as a rushing threat. Just don't expect many deep or intermediate targets, especially after Samuel had a tough separating from cornerbacks last year.
