By Nate Moser
The wide receiver department for the Buffalo Bills roster has changed massively over this offseason. Gabe Davis, Deonte Harty, and Trent Sherfield all left the team through free agency to go to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, and Minnesota Vikings respectively. The Bills also traded star Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans to join a squad already containing the likes of CJ Stroud, Tank Dell, and Nico Collins. Safe to say, for Buffalo, there are a lot of holes that need to be filled.
One of the new faces in the Bills wide receiver room to help replace some of the players leaving is Curtis Samuel. The 27-year-old inked a three-year contract back in March with Buffalo after spending the previous three seasons with the Washington Commanders. He originally was drafted in the second round (40th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers and spent the first four seasons in the league with the club.
Samuel joined a 2017 Panthers team that contained quarterback Cam Newton, rookie running back Christian McCaffrey, running back Jonathan Stewart, and fellow wide receiver Devin Funchess. His best productive season came in the 2018 and 2019 campaigns. 2018 saw Samuel play in 13 games, while starting in eight of those. He was targeted 65 times and made 39 receptions, along with five touchdowns. 2019 saw Samuel start 15 out of the 16 games he played with Carolina. He was targeted 105 times, made 54 receptions, got 627 yards, and accrued six touchdowns. That is currently the most he has had in his career so far in games started, targets, and touchdowns for a single season.
I don’t believe we have not seen Samuel’s best football yet in the NFL. As I previously mentioned in my Chase Claypool piece, Samuel’s best quarterback that he has played with was probably Newton. The total list of quarterbacks Samuel has gotten at least one touchdown with are the following:
Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater, Kyle Allen, PJ Walker, Carson Wentz, Taylor Heinicke, Sam Howell, and Jacoby Brissett
Part of Samuel’s tenure in Washington was affected by injuries. He only played in five games during the 2021 season, where he accumulated just six receptions for 27 yards and no touchdowns. The other two years he played for Washington though, he made an impact and played in most of the games. He shared the wide receiver room with teammates like Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson as well, and the three played key roles in that Washington offense under head coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner. Samuel during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns posted the following numbers:
- 2022: 17 games played, 92 targets, 64 receptions, 656 yards, 4 TDs
- 2023: 16 games played, 91 targets, 62 receptions, 613 yards, 4 TDs
Now, Samuel finds himself on the Bills who are transitioning from the first portion of the Josh Allen Era to the next. Putting Samuel on the Bills with Allen should help him put up career stats. This will be the best quarterback he plays with now, and he will get more targets with other wide receivers having left in Diggs and Davis. Samuel will not have to carry the offensive load just him and Allen though. Second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid looks to be an offensive weapon on the rise, and a potential breakout campaign could be on the horizon. Rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman will also potentially gain some chemistry and knowledge in the offense to become a core member of the Bills for years to come. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir should be able to take the next step as well for Buffalo. Samuel does not have to take care of business alone and all he will have to do is focus on playing his brand of football. He should be a welcome member to the Bills roster, and we will see how impactful he can be in the coming months.
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