Curtis Samuel

Week 4 at Houston Texans

Curtis Samuel caught five passes for 53 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals last week and he tied with Greg Olsen for the team lead with seven targets. Kyle Allen has started two games in his career for the Panthers and thrown a touchdown to Samuel in each of them. Samuel’s 24 targets to start the season are encouraging for long-term success, and he leads the team in snaps. Samuel’s production may not be popping yet, but the factors are in place for him to thrive.

This week might be a good time to risk using him. The Texans have allowed the fifth-most aFPA to the wide receiver position so far this season, including a monster day to Keenan Allen last week. We have Samuel ranked as a low-end WR3 this week, but he has considerable upside against a defense that has struggled early this year.

Week 2 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Curtis Samuel had a quiet start to the season, catching three of the four balls thrown his way for 32 yards. The Panthers struggled offensively outside of Christian McCaffrey and will look to rebound this week against the Buccaneers, who gave up the second-most points to opposing teams last year but looked pretty good against the 49ers in Week 1.

Expect Samuel to rebound a little in what should be a good matchup, although fantasy owners with better options should take a wait-and-see approach to this Panthers offense. Samuel is ranked as a low-end WR3 this week, and he’s a boom-bust option in most league formats.

Fantasy Upside

Curtis Samuel struggled to stay on the field as a rookie, but his role in the offense grew over the course of last season. During the first half of 2018, Samuel saw the field on only 24% of the Panthers’ offensive snaps. Over the second half, that number catapulted to 68%. He finished with 494 receiving yards and five touchdowns, and he found the end zone two additional times in the running game. Samuel should continue to develop in the offense and be used as a versatile threat. He’ll line up all over the field, and his playmaking ability allows him to make the most of his opportunities. The departure of Devin Funchess in free agency opens up 79 targets as well, giving Samuel significant upside.

Fantasy Downside

Samuel’s injury history is concerning. He only played in eight games as a rookie and is only 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds. Samuel is also still more prospect than product at this point. He’s yet to have 100 yards in a single game and he’ll still likely be at least the third option in the passing game behind Christian McCaffrey and D.J. Moore. The bulk of the vacated targets from Funchess may very well end up going Moore’s way. Also, Cam Newton is coming off shoulder surgery and if his body continues to break down, it’ll be hard for any pass-catchers in Carolina to succeed.

2019 Bottom Line

Samuel is currently going in the 10th round in 12-team leagues, a full four rounds lower than Moore. However, we have the two ranked very similarly – less than five players apart in our current rankings – and you can argue Samuel has just as much upside with his versatility and his knack for finding the end zone. He’s risky for sure, but with how they used him to close out the season, the departure of Devin Funchess and his playmaking skill set, he’s a bargain at his current ADP.