“I competed against his father,” McCarthy said with a grin. “He’s, frankly, been one of my favorite players since I arrived here. I just love the way he works. He’s extremely physical. His ball skills are off the charts. That’s a big thing I really look for in defensive backs You want to take the ball away. He has all that. He’s been here every single day [since] the offseason program. He’s had two really good practices so far.”
McCarthy’s Packers went 2-0 against Samuel’s father when he was with the Eagles as a player, including a playoff victory in January 2011. But the elder Samuel finished his career with 58 interceptions, seven coming in the postseason, so McCarthy isn’t surprised by what he sees from No. 22 for the Steelers.
Samuel has a fresh start with a new coaching staff, but so does wide receiver Roman Wilson. McCarthy has been complimentary of how Wilson has embraced that blank slate, and continued to heap that praise on the third-year third-rounder out of Michigan. From their first phone conversation, when Wilson wanted to introduce himself to the new head coach and give his personal perspective on his first two seasons, McCarthy has told him he wants him all over the field.
“He’s done a heck of a job inside, and I haven’t even talked to him about this yet, but I think we can start working him a little bit more outside, too,” McCarthy said. “Because his vertical speed out there on the numbers, I think he has an excellent skill set for that, also. But he’s done a really nice job. He can line up at X, Z and F, and so far, he’s done exactly what we asked.”