Commanders' latest decision can help Deebo Samuel get back to the dominant form he showed earlier in his career
One of the Washington Commanders' biggest moves of the offseason is the trade for Deebo Samuel and if it works like it should, Jayden Daniels and the offense will be even scarier than it was last year.That's obviously saying a lot, as Samuel is one of the NFL's most electric playmakers when he's healthy.Well, the […]
One of the Washington Commanders' biggest moves of the offseason is the trade for Deebo Samuel and if it works like it should, Jayden Daniels and the offense will be even scarier than it was last year.
That's obviously saying a lot, as Samuel is one of the NFL's most electric playmakers when he's healthy.
Well, the Commanders' latest move can help Samuel get back to the 2021 form that saw him rack up 1,770 yards from scrimmage and 14 total touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl nod and a first-team All-Pro nod. And per the report from ESPN's Mike Reiss, it's the decision to add former NFL wide receiver Wes Welker to the coaching staff.
The key part of the hire is the fact Welker was the San Francisco 49ers' wide receivers coach from 2019-2021, which are the first three seasons of Samuel's career and as mentioned earlier, 2021 is easily the best year of his career.
Per the Washington Post's Nicki Jhabvala, Welker "will be a personnel analyst and work with both the personnel staff and coaching staff, per sources". Also, according to The Athletic's Matt Barrows, Welker was the only one who stayed on top of Samuel's weight fluctuations in San Francisco, which turned out to be a pretty big topic during his time there.
Welker also has connections with Adam Peters due to their time in both New England and Denver and was Kliff Kingsbury's teammate at Texas Tech.
Welker was one of the game's better receivers during his time in the NFL. Over the span of 12 seasons, he logged 903 receptions for 9,924 yards and 50 touchdowns. He earned five straight Pro Bowl nods from 2008-2012 and he also logged four All-Pro nods, as well.
His greatest run of success came with the New England Patriots, where he helped Tom Brady and Co. reach the Super Bowl in 2011. Welker had the best year of his career that year, logging 122 catches for 1,569 yards and nine touchdowns, but the Pats eventually lost to the New York Giants that year by the score of 21-17.
