The San Francisco 49ers have traded for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in exchange for two mid-round picks. Did the Niners make the right move?
The San Francisco 49ers have been one of the most pleasant NFL surprises to begin the 2019 season. Despite a 6-0 start, though, there are still some who believe that they could use some reinforcements down the stretch and into the playoffs. On Tuesday, they made a trade to bring in some, dealing with the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.
Sanders has been traded to the 49ers for 2020 third-round and fourth-round picks, as reported by Mike Klis of 9News. The Niners will also receive a 2020 fifth-round pick from the Broncos as part of the trade. Furthermore, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that San Francisco wanted to make the trade early in the week to ensure Sanders can play in their Week 8 matchup with the Carolina Panthers.
The 32-year old wide receiver in the last year of his contract should indeed be ready for the matchup with the Panthers. Moreover, he strengthens the weapons around Jimmy Garoppolo in Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense for the stretch run. Did the Niners make the right move with this trade, though? Let’s examine by handing out a trade grade.
Trade Grade: A-
There are talented pass-catchers in San Francisco right now with Dante Pettis, Marquise Goodwin, Richie James and rookie Deebo Samuel. While that may be true, Sanders arrives and is immediately their top pass-catching option outside of tight end George Kittle. He’s a proven veteran commodity with the versatility to line up in the slot or out wide.
With some injuries that the 49ers have been dealing with in regards to their receiving corps, in addition to an inconsistent passing attack, improving the wide receiver group seemed necessary. Thus, general manager John Lynch was aggressive — as per usual — in getting his guy, landing arguably the top pass-catcher on the market ahead of the 2019 NFL Trade Deadline.
The compensation that the 49ers are sending to Denver in this trade isn’t negligible. At the same time, though, San Francisco clearly believes they are contenders. Subsequently, the two draft picks decrease in value as they will likely fall near the end of the third and fourth rounds. So sending those selections to the Broncos while recouping a fifth-rounder is good business. Perhaps the only shortcoming of the deal is that it is a 10-week rental of Sanders with his expiring contract.
Even still, what the Niners defense has shown to this point leads you to believe they have viable Super Bowl aspirations this season. They also have an elite rushing attack to help control the game. With Sanders coming to town, though, their team has become even more complete.
Sanders should offer a tremendous boost to Garoppolo and the passing game, thus giving the offense more balance and reliability at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. That’s a huge boom for the 49ers and their aggressiveness on the trade market should benefit them greatly.