NFL free agency moves have been coming in droves, so much so that some signings and trades have flown under the radar. Curtis Samuel joining the Buffalo Bills qualifies as one such development.

The veteran wide receiver signed a three-year, $24 million deal to reunite with offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who served the same role with the Carolina Panthers in 2020 and 2021. Brady and Samuel were together in Carolina for just the 2020 season, but that was Samuel's best as a pro, when he finished with a career-high 77 catches and 851 yards to go with three touchdowns.

This was a signing the Bills had to make. They had already lost Gabe Davis to the Jacksonville Jaguars and don't have much in their receiving room outside of Stefon Diggs and Khalil Shakir. Samuel is a very dynamic and versatile player who can line up anywhere on the field. He will be a solid weapon for Josh Allen and the Bills. But how he fits warrants a grade and further analysis of the signing.

Grading Bills' Curtis Samuel signing

Washington Commanders wide receiver Curtis Samuel (4) scores on a one- yard touchdown run against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Gabe Davis and Curtis Samuel are very different, the latter a more well-rounded player who can help Buffalo in ways Davis never did. The data backs it up.

Davis was mostly a field stretcher for the Bills and relied a bit too much on Allen looking for him deep. His average depth of target was 15 yards downfield, according to playerprofiler.com, ranking eighth among all wide receivers. In 2022, Davis' average depth of target was 15.2 yards and the year prior it was 13.4. Going deep is seemingly the only arrow Davis has in his quiver.

That led to some big games from Davis. No one can forget the 201 yard, four-touchdown game he put up against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 Divisional Round. But his style of game and role in Buffalo's offense also led to some duds.

Davis had more games with zero yards (four) in Buffalo than he did with 100 yards (three). Because he wasn't able to punish defenses in different ways, it allowed them to take away Davis as a deep threat and send help on Diggs to make sure he didn't burn them, either.

Things should be different now with Samuel in his spot. Davis had a 53.8% success rate vs. man coverage in 2023, as noted by Matt Harmon of Yahoo! Sports. That ranked below the 31st percentile in his database. Samuel's, however, finished in the 88th percentile against man coverage last season.

Samuel can masquerade as the deep threat Davis was in this Bills' offense. Though that wasn't how he was used in Washington over the last three seasons, he was deployed in that fashion over his time in Carolina. In 2019, Samuel's average depth of target was 14.4 yards, which ranked 18th among wide receivers. He registered 27 deep targets, eighth-most at the position in that department.

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The problem was his quarterback play. Samuel's target quality rating was 101st among wide receivers that season and only 62.6% of his targets were deemed catchable. That will happen when the quarterbacks throwing him the ball included an injured Cam Newton, Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke. That shouldn't be an issue with Allen.

Samuel can win and add value in the short to intermediate passing game, too. His average depth of target was just 6.6 yards in 2023, but he still averaged 1.51 yards per route run. That's not a great number, but considering his role and competition for targets, it's pretty impressive. He also added 260 yards after the catch, which ranked 39th among receivers.

Davis was a really good player for the Bills, but Samuel is an upgrade over him. He also will cost Buffalo less. Davis signed a three-year, $39 million deal with the Jaguars that includes $24 million guaranteed. Samuel got $24 million that can go up to $30 million if he hits certain incentives over the same duration, but received only $15 million guaranteed. That's great business by the Bills.

Buffalo needed some more versatility in their offense. They got it with Curtis Samuel. Not only that, but they got him at a discount compared to some of the other receivers who signed deals. This was a great deal for them and Samuel. Hopefully he looks even better in Buffalo on the field than he does on paper.

Grade: A