The Summer of Samuel

[Sir Purr]

"He's light years from where he was when he came in as a rookie." head coach Ron Rivera said of the former second-round pick. "One thing that I talk about is that we have a group of young guys that do need to take that step, and he is one of them. A lot of it has to do with his work ethic, how hard he has worked, the extra things that he does, the things he does before practice. Then you see him take it and transfer it onto the field."


OK, now here’s the part where we pump the brakes a little bit. Samuel has earned all the plaudits this summer. He’s been phenomenal. But the 22-year-old is not close to being a finished product.


“He flashes. That’s the kind of player he is – he’s flashy. We just have to keep working on consistency and the routine stuff,” wide receivers coach Jim Hostler said. “He’s got great talent, obviously. It’s about growing in all three (receiver) positions to be able to have a route tree that everyone trusts and knows you’re going to be in the right spot. And he’s still working on that.”


And look, there are those who aren’t going to put a whole lot of stock in training camp practice production. Let’s see it in the games; let’s see it for a full season.


“I just have to continue to do what I’m doing. With the limited number of snaps that I’ve had (the last two seasons), I feel like I’ve produced,” Samuel said. “I feel like I'm having a great camp. As long as I’m getting reps and I’m staying healthy, I’m going to become a much better player.”


A WR1 type player? A 1,000-yard type player?


The Curtis Samuel fan club – which grows larger by the day – certainly believes so.


“To the ones that support me, keep it going,” Samuel said. “To the ones that doubt me?


“You’ll see.”