On their way to a surprise appearance in the 2021 NFC championship game, the 49ers took the league by storm with their unique utilization of third-year receiver Deebo Samuel.
But in 16 games with the Falcons, the 30-year old veteran put together his best offensive season to date, rushing for 618 yards and six touchdowns on 153 carries and reeling in 52 of his 69 targets for 548 yards and five touchdowns receiving.
Teams have employed their receivers in a similar fashion before, such as the Packers with Ty Montgomery and Randall Cobb in the mid 2010s.
That, of course, will not—and did not—stop teams from trying.
But he found the end zone once and will likely see more action out of the backfield with the arrival of new head coach Mike McDaniel—the man who helped orchestrate Samuel’s breakout.
While it’s an eye-roll-inducing cliché, the NFL truly is a copycat league.
But perhaps a team or two will be an exception to that rule and find similar or even better success than what the 49ers had with Samuel this past season.
The same hypothesis can be—and has been—applied to other sports, such as baseball teams moving their best hitters to the top of their respective lineups to ensure more plate appearances.
The issue is: it’s harder to manufacture such opportunities without forcing it to the detriment of your offense; and not every great offensive player has the skillset to do what someone like Samuel can.
That said, if they so desire, there may still be a way for the Seahawks to hop on this trend without having to add anyone to their current roster.
In the end, he only carried the ball four times for 59 yards, adding to his disappointing receiving total of 64 yards and one touchdown on 10 catches.
But despite Eskridge’s 5-foot-9 stature, he boasts good enough size at 190 pounds and eye-catching speed with a recorded 4.38-second 40-yard dash time at his pro day a year ago.
For one, Eskridge may be the third- or even fourth-best player in his own unit, which defeats the “get the ball in your best player’s hands” aspect.
And there are other ways to get him out in space, such as sneaking him out into the flat and giving him blockers to work with downfield on screens.
It could help wash the poor taste of Eskridge’s lost rookie season out of everyone’s mouths and carve out a unique role that goes beyond the mundane responsibilities of a No.