The endzone pass and the third down pass on crossing patterns, the receiver had no separation. Cooper should help with just that. I think it is a great pickup. He will also benefit Knox and Kincaid by the attention he will draw.
I have to believe his toe is limiting him. He certainly was targeted a lot at St. John Fisher in the practices I saw. Tis is info from when they signed him:
Matthew Harmon, a wide receiver guru known for his Reception Perception methodology, released the following stats on Samuel’s route running success rate in 2023.
75.4% success rate vs. man coverage (82nd percentile in the league). Samuel has cleared 75% success rate vs. man in all 4 seasons charted for reception perception
Samuel’s 80% success rate vs. zone was the best mark of his career Samuel’s ability to separate and get open against man and zone should be a major asset for Buffalo’s offense in 2024.
https://www.syracuse.com/buffalo-bills/2024/07/unleashing-curtis-samuel-is-1-of-10-keys-to-buffalo-bills-super-bowl-run.html
Hollins was targeted by Josh a lot at camp practices particularly in the endzone. He seems pretty good at high pointing the ball and catching the fade patterns in the redzone. He might not be an all-pro but I think he will surprise in the redzone.
At Sunday's practice, Morris was on all the special teams. On kick return, they ran right behind him a couple of times. I think he is on the roster. That said, Davidson is very smooth and shows great hands. It will be an interesting cutdown.
I will give Keon Coleman another vote. He is really smooth and obviously athletic. He played with a QB who scrambled for a lot of off platform throws. He is graded lower than about 7 other receivers. I like him better than Legette and Mitchell.
I think Beane knew that Davis and Diggs had become too easy to cover. Teams could send db's on the blitz (Cinci playoff and KC under Spagnola) without paying. The next steps are guys who can make a defense respect them and open up space for the offense particularly the TE. One of the speed guys like Mitchell will make the corners move back. Samuel has wheels too. If they double up at wr, someone who beats man coverage like McConkey is intriguing.
Armstead would be quite an add. He drew double teams 64% of the run plays and helped keep their linebackers untouched. He also bats down a lot of passes and pushes guards backwards into the QB. I say take him if the chance is there.