San Francisco 49ers: Vance McDonald should be on the trade block

By Nicholas McGee | Aug 7, 2017

GLENDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 13: Tight end Vance McDonald /

After injuries at linebacker and the offensive line, the San Francisco 49ers may look to try to trade for depth, and Vance McDonald should be on the block.

With Malcolm Smith out for the season and Joshua Garnett set to miss the start of the year, the San Francisco 49ers have a potential need for more depth at both linebacker and guard. More importantly, they have trade chips to acquire players at those positions.

San Francisco’s depth at linebacker is of a higher quality than what they have in the trenches, so the need would seem to be greater on the O-line. However, regardless of which position the 49ers feel must be addressed, it is clear they have a number of decent players who may not make the team who they could flip for extra resource either at linebacker or up front.

Niners Wire’s Jerod Brown touted defensive lineman Quinton Dial and slot corner Will Redmond as players it would make sense for San Francisco to trade. Ronald Blair, who impressed in flashes in his rookie season, also figures to be on that list. The former Appalachian State defender is likely to be on the outside looking in when it comes to the final shakeup given the abundance of talent the 49ers have on the defensive line.

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But the top candidate to be traded away from the 49ers should be tight end Vance McDonald.

McDonald, per the San Jose Mercury News, was a player the 49ers explored trading during the draft, despite being handed a contract extension by previous general manager Trent Baalke. Picked by Baalke in the 2013 draft, the new regime has no attachment to McDonald and he has done little in training camp to tempt them to develop one.

There has been little in the way of noise surrounding McDonald’s performances in camp and, when some finally emerged from Saturday’s open practice, it was yet more evidence of a failing that has plagued his career to this point.

Per Pro Football Focus‘ David Neumann, McDonald has a drop rate of 15.8 percent since 2013, the worst among tight ends with at least 75 catchable targets in that period. He caught only 53.3 percent of his targets in 2016, according to Pro Football Reference. And his hands were once again in focus on Saturday, as he dropped two passes in the red zone.

McDonald’s apparent continued struggles with drops come at a time when the 49ers, who also have veterans at the position in Logan Paulsen and Garrett Celek, boast two athletic rookie tight ends who have been making plays.

Fifth-round pick George Kittle was the star of OTAs and minicamp. Meanwhile, undrafted free agent Cole Hikutini has been a constant thorn in the side of linebackers with his athleticism. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco expects both Kittle and Hikutini to make the roster, whose lack of production over four seasons and issues with drops far outweigh his obvious athleticism.

McDonald averaged 16.3 yards per reception last season and the big-play threat he demonstrated in 2016 will attract some teams. However, he is a holdover from a regime that made too many bad decisions and is already being outshone by a late-round pick and a UDFA.

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Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks has been mentioned as a previous trade target for the 49ers while KNBR’s Larry Krueger talked up Detroit Lions guard Laken Tomlinson as someone they may look at. If the Niners are interested in either of those players then McDonald should be the first name they bring up in discussions.