With New Additions at Cornerback, Asante Samuel Jr. is Ready to Showcase His Versatility in the Best Interest of the Team

Asante Samuel Jr. shares how his versatility can be utilized this season following the team's new additions at cornerback in free agency and the draft.

Nicholas Cothrel | May 9, 2022

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Los Angeles Chargers

COSTA MESA – When the Chargers drafted Asante Samuel Jr. out of Florida State last year with the 47th overall pick, he had exposure playing along the boundary as an outside cornerback and from the interior alignment at the nickel position.

Over the duration of his collegiate career, he flashed the ability to play either position, making him a coveted prospect as he embarked on advancing to the pro game after three years in Tallahassee.

Ultimately, as a rookie, the Chargers primarily deployed him on the outside due to the fact that they had Chris Harris Jr. to serve in the nickel role. Samuel strung together an intriguing first year in the league, holding his own regardless of the position he lined up in. On 58 targets, he surrendered 36 completions, while registering two interceptions, tied for a team-best with safety Derwin James.

Now, following an offseason in which the Chargers put their salary cap resources into uplifting the defensive unit, Samuel could endure a change, holding things down from the nickel position with Harris no longer on the team.

This offseason, the Chargers signed J.C. Jackson and most recently, as of last week, came to terms with Bryce Callahan. They also have Michael Davis, who started 14 games last season and drafted two developmental cornerbacks in the sixth round, bringing in Ja'Sir Taylor from Wake Forest and Deane Leonard out of Ole Miss.

May 14, 2021; Costa Mesa, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. (26) during rookie minicamp at Hoag Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Samuel, when asked Monday following a workout from the team's phase two portion of their offseason program, what his role looks like for the season ahead, demonstrated that he's entering the year with an open mind, willing to do whatever puts the team in the best place to succeed.

“I’m just going to leave it up to the coaches, whatever they feel like I need to do," Samuel said about his role this season. "I’m a team player. Whatever we have to do to win the game, that’s what I’ll do. It doesn’t really matter to me.”

Chargers coach Brandon Staley said back in March that he thought Samuel gives them the flexibility to kick inside if that's something the team needed him to do following the offseason of free agency and the NFL Draft.

"Asante gives us that flex to go inside," Staley said at the NFL Combine. "I think when we evaluated him, we felt like that was something that he could do. He proved that he could do it in camp to an extent but we really wanted, you know, based off who we had, the best thing for Asante was to play outside knowing that we had Chris. I think that allowed Asante to get off to a really good start as a player instead of get pulled in a couple too many directions early. I think now, Asante is a lot more ready for that."

Samuel said Monday that being able to deliberately work on fine-tuning his game this offseason in comparison to last year, where he was navigating the pre-draft process and meeting with teams, has helped him feel more comfortable in Staley's defensive system entering year two.

Aug 22, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. (26) celebrated after he intercepted a pass intended for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) in the first half of the game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

“It’s night and day," Samuel said. "I know the scheme inside and out. I’m just asking more advanced questions instead of asking the regular, basic questions for the scheme. It gives everybody more of a better feel. This is the first time that I’ve been in a system for two straight years since high school, so it kind of feels good.”

It's still unclear what the overall complexity of Samuel's role will look like in 2022. He didn't give any specifics from what the coaching staff has relayed to him with the offseason signings over the past three months.

But one thing you can assume: Samuel will have a role on this much-improved defense. Whether that's in the same capacity as last season or serving from the inside alignment, covering predominantly slot receivers.

Nonetheless, Samuel is taking a team-first approach, allowing the coaching staff to put his versatility to the forefront of things as general manager Tom Telesco overhauls the defense in an attempt to improve from where they finished as a unit just a season ago.

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Nick Cothrel is the publisher of Charger Report. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickCothrel for more Chargers coverage.

Published May 9, 2022

NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel is the publisher for Charger Report, covering the Los Angeles Chargers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow Nick on Twitter @NickCothrel.