Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Watch: Ohio State RB/WR Curtis Samuel

Weaknesses

While Samuel checks many of the boxes as a RB prospect, it is hard to envision him as an immediate feature back in an NFL offense due to his usage at Ohio State. Samuel is mostly used as a change of pace back behind Mike Weber even though he is the most dynamic playmaker on their roster in my eyes.

Based purely off his limited usage many evaluators may try to label Samuel as a scat back of sorts, but trust me … he is legit.

Another weakness to Samuel’s game is how he often tries to do too much at times. Rather than taking the yards that the defense gives him, Samuel often bounces runs to the outside and tries to hit the home run play.

He also dances around for too long at moments and focuses on making defenders miss rather than moving upfield. If Samuel were to be an every down back he will need to learn to stay downhill and harness his desire to break every run outside.

Fit

It’s a running back! It’s a wide receiver! No, it’s Curtis Samuel!

Come April you will surely be hearing a plethora of different opinions on where Samuel should end up. In terms of his NFL projection, Curtis Samuel’s position is up in the air.

NFL teams may possibly view him predominantly as a WR due to his elite potential as a slot receiver. However, Samuel looks like the real deal at RB. Trying to use him solely at one position limits his potential to impact the game.

If Pittsburgh were to draft Samuel, I can only imagine how much fun Todd Haley would have scheming new ways to feed him the ball. Haley would be like a little boy on Christmas morning who just got that new toy he had been asking for, and could use Samuel like he did with Dexter McCluster while he was in Kansas City.

Next: The Life of a Steelers Fan in New England

Curtis Samuel would fit right in with Pittsburgh’s high octane offensive attack. He is surely a prospect to keep an eye on for all Steeler fans.