I am a NC State alum and fan and probably watched at least 90% of Samuels' games in college. I love the guy, and I want him to succeed in the NFL. However, I am not really seeing the fantasy optimism.
At State, he played an all purpose role while first Matt Dayes and then Nyheim Hines were featured at RB. One might argue that it was a great way for the NC State coaches to get more talent on the field by deploying them this way, and there is definitely truth to that. But consider what happened from 2016 to 2017. In his first 2 seasons, Hines played WR, while Dayes started at RB and Samuels at TE/hybrid/all purpose. Look at what they did in 2016:
Dayes: 249/1166/10 (4.7 ypc) rushing, 32/271/0 (8.5 ypr) receiving
Samuels: 33/189/6 (5.7 ypc) rushing, 55/565/7 (10.3 ypr) receiving
Hines: 13/44/0 (3.4 ypc) rushing, 43/527/0 (12.2 ypr) receiving
(Lot of talent in that backfield.)
Then Dayes graduated and was drafted by the Browns. And State decided to install Hines as the feature RB rather than Samuels. Even though Samuels appeared to be the better runner and Hines was arguably a better receiver, at least based on ypr. And based on speed, since getting Hines the ball in the open field could mean a TD from anywhere.
To be fair, State had a strong WR corps last year, so Hines wasn't needed there, and Hines would not have been able to play exactly the same TE/hybrid position Samuels played. So I think the coaching staff did the right thing.
But here we are with people imagining Samuels potentially replacing Bell next year, as what, the Steelers' feature RB? I don't see that. He never performed as a primary RB in college. His career high in carries in a season was last year, when he had 78, and with that career high in carries came a career low in ypc (though still solid at 5.2 ypc). The point is, he never showed in college that he can be a primary RB. Why expect he can be one in the NFL?
I think there is some merit to the thought that he could be a third down and red zone back, and that occasionally offers significant value (e.g., Woodhead in San Diego when healthy). But the Steelers don't need that role if Bell is healthy.
I have seen some suggest that he will get snaps because he will play some H-back, FB, and TE in addition to RB. Sure, that is possible, but note that he did not play a blocking role in college. He either carried the ball or ran routes, period. It seems to me that for him to get on the field in the NFL as a H-back, FB, or TE, he has to be able to block, and he has never proven that.
Anyway, I am a fan, and I hope I am wrong. And I realize his cost in rookie drafts is low, so there isn't any risk in taking him. I just don't know that there is really any upside.