Robert Saleh, Jets staff have up close and personal chance to find the next Deebo Samuel at Senior Bowl

MOBILE, Ala. — Plenty of teams had an idea what Deebo Samuel could do when they watched his college film from South Carolina and then came to the Senior Bowl to watch him play here three years ago.

Only one team had the inside track on being able to project what he would become, though.

The 49ers knew Samuel could be so much more than a wide receiver because they got to spend so much time with him as the coaching staff for his squad at the all-star game. When the second round of the 2019 draft rolled around and he was there, the 49ers pounced.

"Coach Kyle [Shanahan] and his offensive staff just absolutely fell in love with him, the nature of his drive, and his love for football," said Jets coach Robert Saleh, who was the defensive coordinator for the 49ers and part of the staff that coached in that Senior Bowl. "It was an easy selection and the rest is history."

Maybe a history that can repeat itself? Saleh and the Jets are coaching the National team at this year’s Senior Bowl, which means they are the ones who get the advantage that has helped other teams form more complete opinions on players in the past and, most recently in Saleh’s experience, led the 49ers to selecting one of the most dynamic young offensive weapons in the game.

"I think there is a very big advantage in terms of being able to extract the mental aspect of it, the stuff you’re not going to see by watching tape," Saleh said on Wednesday after a practice in preparation for Saturday’s all-star game. "You hear word of mouth through the evaluation process, but for an entire week it’s very hard to hide so your true character will reveal itself. There is going to be adversity this week, there are going to be some bad times, but the cream always rises to the top."

Maybe even enough cream for the Jets to find their own Deebo Samuel at this year’s Senior Bowl. They’re certainly going to be on the lookout.

"We’re in the meetings with them, we get a little bit more of an intimate setting, so that’s where the valuable information is going to come from," Saleh said. "The practice is the practice. It’s the meeting rooms where I think you get the most knowledge."

The Jets have picks four and 10 in the upcoming NFL Draft so there will be a small pool of players who are deemed worthy of such lofty investments. Later rounds, though, are where team’s boards tend to differ significantly and where, most likely, something that caught the Jets’ eye this week will lead to them making a decision in April.

"This week doesn’t trump what they have put on the film," Saleh said. "Where these guys can separate themselves is how they go about their business. That’s where a guy like Deebo separated himself in the Senior Bowl with his character and his football makeup."

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.