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Samuel appears to have lost weight during the offseason, Nick Wagoner of The Athletic reports.

Samuel presumably can drop some pounds and still be by far the most powerful ballcarrier among NFL wide receivers. Assuming the weight loss was intentional, he's likely trying to improve his agility and route running, which could allow him to have more impact catching passes downfield. Samuel drew just 26 targets 10-plus yards downfield last season, compared to 46 during his 2021 breakout campaign (per PFF). He'll perhaps always be most dangerous as a runner and short-pass YAC threat, but efficiency on the deeper targets hasn't been a problem, so there's arguably still room for volume growth there. The issue, more so than Samuel's skill set, is that he's competing for touches in an offense that also WR Brandon Aiyuk, TE George Kittle and RB Christian McCaffrey. While Aiyuk may not be practicing amidst contract frustration/negotiations, it still seems more likely than not he'll be on the field for San Francisco come Week 1.

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