Rams’ Cooper Kupp, 49ers’ Deebo Samuel go the extra yard
The All-Pro wide receivers bring all-around talent and zeal to Sunday’s NFC championship game at SoFi Stadium.
The NFC championship game on Sunday at SoFi Stadium will feature two All-Pro wide receivers who defy logic as well as tacklers.
The Rams’ Cooper Kupp is unique. The San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel is unique. Yet, in the way that stands out to teammates and coaches, they’re the same.
When one talks about the other, you have to double-check to be sure who’s discussing whom.
“You have a lot of respect for someone that’s willing to go out there and do whatever they ask him to do with all that he’s got,” Kupp said of Samuel (though it could be vice-versa).
For Kupp, “whatever they ask” is being not only the NFL’s leading regular-season receiver in catches (145), yards (1,947) and touchdown receptions (16), but an enthusiastic blocker in the ground game, and a quick-thinking and sure-handed fielder of punts in non-runback situations.
For Samuel, it’s being first among the league’s receivers in yards per catch (18.2) and fifth in yards (1,405), as well as leading all receivers in rushing yards (375), on top of doing spot duty as a kickoff returner.
It added up to Kupp and Samuel finishing No. 1 and 2 among all NFC players in all-purpose yards (1,993 and 1,845, respectively).
On Wednesday, the Pro Football Writers of America announced its members voted Kupp the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. (The PFWA chose Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as MVP.)
Voting for that award took place before Kupp’s latest heroics, the catch of a 44-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to set up Matt Gay’s last-second field goal in the Rams’ 30-27 victory over the Buccaneers last Sunday.
Of course, Samuel was also responsible for his team advancing, bowling over a Packers tackler to complete a 45-yard return of the second-half kickoff to start a drive to the 49ers’ first score in a 13-10 win at Green Bay.
San Francisco special teams coordinator Richard Hightower remembered coaching Samuel at the 2019 Senior Bowl. Samuel rode with Hightower to practice each day so he would be one of the first arrivals and work on punt returns. Samuel had run back four kickoffs for touchdowns at South Carolina, but he had little experience returning punts.
“(He said), ‘I want to try to do anything, coach,’” Hightower remembers Samuel saying. “Most guys won’t do that. They don’t want to embarrass themselves. But he’s a tough son of a gun.”
Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said he and Samuel talk about the physical sacrifice the receiver makes, running between the tackles as a ball carrier and breaking tackles to the tune of 768 yards after the catch this season – second only to Kupp’s 846.
“But Deebo’s handled it well,” Shanahan said. “He’s one of the main reasons we’re here. I think it’s one of the things that’s given him the opportunity to be one of the best players in the NFL.”
Samuel has said he doesn’t really pay attention to other receivers. But Kupp has paid attention to Samuel.
“He’s really a very special player,” Kupp said. “I’ve watched a lot of Deebo Samuel.”
The Rams couldn’t avoid watching if they wanted to.
Samuel, 26, signed by the 49ers as an undrafted rookie three years ago, caught and carried the ball for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the 49ers’ two regular-season wins against the Rams this season.
Kupp, meanwhile, had 258 yards in total offense and a touchdown against the 49ers.
“I think they’re great football players that are complete receivers,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “Some of the things that Deebo does when he’s lined up as a running back is really special stuff.
“Cooper’s very similar. We’re just not giving him carries from the dot, from the offset gun. He’s part of our blocking surfaces. He does so many different things.
“I think you’re talking about two well-deserved first-team All-Pro players, two guys that have been instrumental in getting their teams to where they’re at.”
NOTES
The week’s first injury report showed Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson (knee), offensive lineman Joe Noteboom (pec) and nose tackle Greg Gaines (toe) missing practice on Wednesday. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth (knee) and safety Taylor Rapp (concussion) were limited in practice, which is progress after Whitworth sat out the Tampa Bay game and Rapp was out of the last two. Niners running back Elijah Mitchell (knee) and left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) missed practice. Shanahan said he expected Williams to play Sunday; the All-Pro missed the regular-season finale against the Rams with an elbow injury.