Steve Young compares 49ers' Deebo Samuel to Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens

Earlier this week, San Francisco 49ers legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice admitted that 49ers All-Pro offensive talent Deebo Samuel "reminded me of someone else back in the day" when Samuel scored a remarkable 57-yard touchdown during the "Monday Night Football" win over the rival Los Angeles Rams. 

Fellow Hall of Famer and iconic 49ers figure Steve Young, who works as an analyst for ESPN, can see where Rice was coming from with that take.

Per David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone, Young compared Samuel to both Rice and Terrell Owens during an appearance on San Francisco sports radio station KNBR. 

"How many times have you seen Jerry go to the ground when catching the ball?" Young asked during the segment. "Like, super rare. That guy, his body could somehow reach down to grab balls, and he would stay up, and he was always on the move. Jerry Rice diving for a ball? He didn't dive. He would just stretch out and grab it, and keep running. It was the most amazing thing. And Jerry had the ability to make people miss. And he had really deceptive speed and an ability to stop and start, so people had a tough time taking him down.

"Deebo has many of the same qualities, but if you ever meet Deebo, he has the body, the torso of — I'm going to overstate it — but an offensive lineman. It is thick. Like, he's thick and strong. So what happens with corners and safeties, he catches the ball, and their brains are trying to tackle a wide receiver, but their body can't handle the size of Deebo, and he just runs through it. He runs through the tackles. And then he has the speed. So that's what makes Deebo so amazing is he has the size and speed."

Samuel recorded 1,405 receiving yards, 365 rushing yards and 14 offensive touchdowns last season and is more of a dual-threat than either Rice or Owens were during their incredible careers. Without directly saying so, Young hinted he thinks Owens could've routinely featured out of the backfield while in his physical prime. 

"Terrell was a wrecking ball, right? He would just run you over and had amazing speed," Young continued during his comments. "So you're talking about three of the greatest kind of receivers. I know we're not going to rank them, but I just think they're all different body types, but Deebo, he's got a thickness that those other two guys don't have in that way." 

Young added that Samuel's body type makes defenders have second thoughts about potentially trying to tackle the 26-year-old as he completes treks down football fields. 

Thus far this season, Samuel has 18 receptions for 246 yards and a touchdown combined with 19 rushing attempts for 113 yards and an additional score. He and the 2-2 Niners will next play at the 1-3 Carolina Panthers this Sunday.