- 22 hours ago
Willard and Dibs debate if 49ers fans want the team to act desperately in the trade market ahead of the deadline next month.
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00:00I don't know if this is a product of, and boredom is the wrong word, maybe satisfaction is the better
00:09word, is this a product of the 49ers being 6-0?
00:13But most Niner conversations that I encounter right now, people are talking about trades.
00:21But there's an aspect of it I understand, which is you really want to go for it.
00:29Like, who doesn't?
00:30And I keep telling people, don't worry.
00:32The Niners know that they're 6-0.
00:34Like, the front office is totally aware that they've got a really good football team.
00:40And if they feel the need to sort of supplement, they absolutely will.
00:46I also think the 49ers have a fair point when they say, and John Lynch has said this, some of
00:53these acquisitions are just going to be our people, our people getting healthy.
00:57Like, we will acquire Nick Bosa to rush the passer.
01:02Doesn't mean you don't want to, you know, get a failsafe in there and back him up and all of
01:08that.
01:09But some of their acquisitions, you think about the wide receiver room alone.
01:13They will acquire Demarcus Robinson and they will reacquire Debo Samuel and I hope they acquire Dajon Stribling and all
01:21of this.
01:21But someone on YouTube actually just asked a couple of minutes ago, do you feel like the Niners should go
01:28after Jonathan Taylor?
01:29And I'm thinking to myself, man, what is it about a 6-0 football team that has everybody so anxious
01:39about adding more players to it, supporting it?
01:44Yes.
01:45But I guess the way I look at it is they're already 6-0.
01:50I think they've got a lot of answers to the questions already.
01:54I don't want to rest on Laurels.
01:56That's not what I'm saying.
01:58But this high-level Garrett Wilson, Jonathan Taylor thing, I don't know, man.
02:04I just do not – I don't feel the need for that.
02:07I don't even see what the hell you would do with these people when they arrive.
02:10So you get Jonathan Taylor and what?
02:12We're going to now go into a job share with he and Christian McCaffrey?
02:15That's not the way this is going to work.
02:17And you've already got Kalon Black, who you like, and he's taken about, I don't know, 20% or 25
02:23% of the carries.
02:25And that's exactly what you would need.
02:27And so if you want to honestly look at a piece that you might go out and get, just go
02:32back in time and look at what Lynch and Shanahan –
02:35Shanna Lynch, as you called them – the acquisitions that they've done in the past.
02:39And we all talk about Jimmy Garoppolo and Emmanuel Sanders.
02:42Those are ones we remember.
02:43Christian McCaffrey.
02:44What about Jordan Willis was the guy they brought in?
02:47And Charles Amenahu, they traded a six-round pick.
02:50It was helpful, by the way.
02:51Right.
02:52And Randy Gregory.
02:53Keon White, last year.
02:54Chase Young, back in 2023.
02:56You gave up a comp third.
02:58You gave up a six for Randy Gregory.
03:00You gave up a six for Keon White.
03:02So if you're looking at will the Niners make a trade before the deadline, the answer is yes.
03:07They've done it almost every single year.
03:09And the second piece of it is what kind of a splash – and shout out Splash, which is where
03:14we are right now –
03:15it's not going to be a humongous big splash move.
03:18They did it with Christian McCaffrey, and that's pretty much the end of the splashy moves they've made.
03:25That's a deadline.
03:26I guess my point is it feels like there's some consternation.
03:31It feels like there's some anxiety about this.
03:34I have none, literally next to none, for two reasons.
03:40A, what you just said, I know that they're going to do this.
03:44Like, I can feel it in my damn bones.
03:47I have no stress that the San Francisco 49ers will wake up in two weeks and be like,
03:52oh, my God, we missed it.
03:54I slept through the deadline.
03:55Man, that thing stuck up on us.
03:56They are going to do what they need to do based on what's available.
04:01And, you know, you don't even fully know your needs yet, I would argue,
04:06because it is still two weeks away, and you don't know the health of some of these players.
04:12I know everybody is like, wide receiver, wide receiver.
04:15Okay, what if you get to the other side of the Raider game, which is the deadline, by the way.
04:20That's two more football games, but it's also a full two and a half weeks away.
04:24What if you get to the other side of that Raider game?
04:28Mike Evans, Demarcus Robinson, Debo Samuel are all healthy.
04:32Christian Kirk is healthy, and Dajon Stribling is a week or two away.
04:38Do you really want to go give up assets for a wide receiver?
04:42Is that the best way to handle the deadline, if that's the situation, when we get there?
04:49And that will be the situation, most likely.
04:51Tracking that way, yes.
04:52And now, between now and then, you might lose somebody, because substation,
04:56and, you know, the 49ers, it's kind of what happens to you, because you're the Niners.
05:00But if you look back again, so every year, they've acquired somebody at the deadline,
05:05except for 2018, they were terrible.
05:08They were 4-12.
05:102024, everybody got hurt, and eventually Brock Purdy stepped in and quarterbacked in that spot.
05:15But every other year, and if you look at the players they acquired,
05:18Emmanuel Sanders, you needed a receiver.
05:21Okay, good.
05:22Defensive end, Jordan Willis.
05:23Defensive lineman, Amenahu.
05:25Defensive end, Randy Gregory.
05:26Defensive end, Chase Young.
05:28Defensive lineman, Keyon White.
05:29Are you hearing me?
05:31Are you seeing what I'm spitting out here?
05:33The person that they're going to go out and get, McCaffrey, was obviously the anomaly,
05:37because he was available, and you gave up four picks, and the rest is history.
05:42But every other acquisition outside of Garoppolo and Emmanuel Sanders were interior and exterior defensive linemen.
05:49So let's look at their history and let that guide you on what they're going to do.
05:54They're going to get, and I saw Bill Barnwell mention them picking up a Colts defensive lineman,
06:00but it was not DeForest Buckner.
06:02Really?
06:02It was the other guy, and I'll come up with his name.
06:05The other guy.
06:06For a six-rounder.
06:07Yeah.
06:07And that, honestly, is the most likely thing they're going to do.
06:11Well, let's talk about that for a sec, because I think splashy-ish is possible.
06:15I don't think Jonathan Taylor or Garrett Wilson are possible, but I think splashy-ish.
06:21Let's talk about DeForest Buckner.
06:22Okay, you get DeForest Buckner.
06:25I'm going to put my hand up first and say I love the idea.
06:28But let's not act like there's not a but.
06:30There is a but.
06:32Big but.
06:33Well, all of them, right?
06:34They're deep linemen.
06:35But the but is, oh, so Tiki Zua and Grayson Halton.
06:39You want them off the field?
06:41You want them off the field?
06:43Well, it's all rotational, but I get your point.
06:45I get your point.
06:45Of course it's rotational.
06:46So I'm not saying there isn't room for him, but I guess the overall point I'm trying to make is,
06:54I don't know how many of you noticed the Niners are really good.
06:59They're really good.
07:00I think they're the best team in the NFL right now.
07:02So, A, I'm fully confident that they're going to do what they need to do.
07:06And, B, and not that many people on this team I'm looking to replace.
07:11Who are you looking to replace?
07:13I think that's kind of the question I want to ask when people look at this.
07:18And is the 6-0 record why it feels like some people are having a hard time just kind of
07:25talking football?
07:27Like week three, people are like, let's go back on trade.
07:31I just, I don't know, man.
07:33I look at this team, I think I've got answers to a lot of the questions right now.
07:37I think more answers are even coming back.
07:40And I also think the other complacency clue that I get is kind of this thing I talked about earlier
07:47where it feels like a lot of my friends who are Niner fans, you held off Washington,
07:52and then you got to this exhale thing.
07:55Like, okay, worst thing that could happen is 6-1, and we'll go into the bye and get healthy.
08:00And I'm thinking to myself, where's the 7-0 juice?
08:04Oh, it's there.
08:05Is it?
08:05It's there, but I think it's offset a little bit by the reality of what you're facing
08:10without all the people you're not going to have.
08:12The man's name is Grover Stewart.
08:15He's 33.
08:16I like his name.
08:16And Bill Barnwell, who is a genius when it comes to the NFL and some of the nuance.
08:21Insane.
08:22He's saying the Niners get Grover Stewart, 33 years old, making $8 million, expiring,
08:27and they get a seventh-round pick, and then they send a sixth-round pick.
08:30This feels very Niner-ish, and he adds in his article,
08:34the Niners are 27th in success rate against the run this year.
08:38They were 31st last year, so it's not about him replacing anybody.
08:43It's just another body, and this happens to be a very big body, 313 pounds.
08:48I will say, though.
08:49You throw another big body in there to stop the run.
08:51Yep.
08:51Although, remember, Michael Williams has only been back for about a game and a half or so.
08:56He is playing outside now.
08:58He's playing outside, but he's a very good run stopper.
09:00I think he's going to help their success rate against the run.
09:03And if you look at the two games since he's been back, I know they were playing Seattle,
09:07who is struggling with their run game.
09:10Struggling.
09:10But Washington also did very, very little in their run game.
09:14So they've had two very successful games against the run.
09:18And if you're looking at the D-line as a whole, they're rushing the passer very, very well.
09:23Their success rate against, you know, in passing situations is very high.
09:29In fact, it's one of the things that I think gives them a stark advantage against the Atlanta Falcons this
09:35weekend.
09:36Dive into the metrics and realize this.
09:39Michael Penix does not handle pressure well.
09:42Certain quarterbacks, you know, they all have these different characteristics.
09:46And if you're a Niner fan, you know by now, Brock Purdy handles it very, very well.
09:51Brock Purdy can move, and Brock Purdy, with his processing, his metrics against pressure and blitz are very, very high.
09:59What Penix is good at, he is very accurate when you're not in his face.
10:05Okay?
10:06He's got big receivers, talented receivers, good Lord, Drake London, Kyle Pitts.
10:11They're both, like, seven feet tall.
10:13They got a lot of – he's got the best running back in the game, in my opinion.
10:16Yeah.
10:17Right?
10:17So, like, he can complete a pass when you don't get at his feet.
10:21When you get at Michael Penix's feet, and the Niners have done very well with this,
10:26you force them into mistakes and completions.
10:28He is not very good.
10:30I think that's a big advantage for them this weekend.
10:32So, yeah, go ahead.
10:34Add to that group so that you can kind of bolster it.
10:37But know also that, in theory, like, I believe that Nick Bosa will play football again this year.
10:43I don't know if he is going to play ten more games, but I think he's going to play football
10:48here pretty soon.
10:49And that should only make this defensive line group that much better.
10:54So, augment, sure, be ready.
10:57I'm in favor of all of these things.
10:59But somehow there's this – I don't know.
11:03There's this vibe of 6-0, take a breath.
11:07And so it's okay if we lose this weekend, and let's start talking about high-level trades.
11:14And I'm just thinking to myself, neither of these things feel very 49er-ish to me very right now.
11:18But for me, it's the reality of where you are at 6-0.
11:22The likelihood of going 17-0 is not that high because I don't think that anybody has ever done that.
11:28The Patriots went 16-0, famously, before they went to a 17-game schedule, and they lost the Super Bowl.
11:34So this would be unchartered territory.
11:37And so I'm not saying it's okay to lose, but when you look at a season that may include losses,
11:43if this is one of the losses and you go into the buy at 6-1, I totally understand it.
11:48It won't be time to hit the panic button.
11:50And I also look at what they've done heading into the trade deadline in the past,
11:54and they tend to go for depth pieces as opposed to superstars.
12:00So when you start talking about this in terms of Brian Thomas Jr., let's get Jonathan Taylor,
12:07and let's go out there and get Khalil Mack, it has not been what the 49ers have done in the
12:12past.
12:12Yeah, although some of those guys you're talking about, I don't think they're terribly expensive.
12:17I know they're more expensive than Grover Cleveland or whoever the hell you just talked about.
12:216-4, 3-14.
12:22But Khalil Mack's an expiring deal, I don't think that's terribly expensive.
12:26I know it's a big name, but he's in his 30s and he's expiring.
12:28I don't think that's terribly expensive.
12:31Brian Thomas Jr., like the Jags don't use him.
12:34I don't think that that is terribly expensive.
12:37How expensive would DeForest Buckner be?
12:39Again, more expensive than Grover, but not that expensive.
12:43He's an expiring deal.
12:44These are, you know, when you do the rental thing, let's bring someone in for seven or eight games.
12:50Sometimes the other team just, there's not that much that they can command.
12:54It would be more than a pick swap in the sixth and seventh.
12:57There's no question.
12:58But we're not talking about ones or twos.
13:00Not even close, in my opinion.
13:02I don't even know if those guys will command a three.
13:04Yeah.
13:05The other part of it, too, is, you know, we're still three full weeks, I guess three weeks minus a
13:10day, away from the deadline.
13:11And so, these teams we're talking about, they still fancy themselves in the mix.
13:16Jacksonville's only two games up on Indianapolis.
13:19So, until you fall to two and six or maybe two and seven, then your tune might change.
13:24But if you look around football, like the Chargers at 0 and 6, you might be thinking, boy, it's a
13:30target.
13:31But at the same time, if you are Harbaugh or you're the GM, you don't want to go full tank
13:36mode because then you might lose your job.
13:38Yeah, that's true.
13:39Like, I'll also say this, though.
13:41The Brian Thomas thing is not a sell.
13:44That's a, hey, we're not really using this guy anymore.
13:47The relocation sensation is what it is.
13:49That's more of a Marvin Harrison-type deal.
13:50So, I don't think Jacksonville's.
13:53Yeah, good job.
13:53I don't think that their record is relevant, at least with regard to him.
13:58Some of the other players, absolutely.
14:00The Colts, the Chargers, et cetera.
14:03The other side of that, though, is, and we're going to go to the phones in just a sec.
14:06Like, the way I look at it, I know that it's so satisfying to be at 6-0 and then
14:14go, okay, East Coast short week trip, we understand if you stub your toe.
14:21I get it, but I am so mindful that almost two-thirds of this season is still sitting there.
14:29And when you look ahead and realize, and I know what some of these teams have done, but when you
14:34realize you've got to go to Dallas,
14:36and you have to face Seattle and the Rams again, and you have to go to Mexico to play Minnesota,
14:41and you've got to go to Arrowhead, and all of these things are still out there.
14:46I don't know if Philadelphia can really mount a team this year, but that's a Sunday night football game late
14:52in the year
14:52where maybe, I know they won't have Jalen Hurts back, but maybe they'll have some people back and be a
14:57squad.
14:58To me, when you have an opportunity to get victories, you freaking get them, and you get them as intensely
15:05as possible.
15:06So I feel like they're better than Atlanta, and that's why, like, no, man, 7-0, 7-0.
15:14I'm going to be disappointed if they don't win this game on Sunday.
15:19Let's go out to JT in San Jose.
15:21JT, we thank you for the call.
15:22What's up?
15:24Hey, how's it going, guys?
15:26Good, man.
15:26How are you?
15:28You know, not too bad.
15:29I mean, unfortunately, the reality kicks in when I start thinking about football.
15:33Like, realistically, look, we played against Seattle.
15:36We played against the Rams.
15:39Everybody, you know, at the beginning, you were all psyched and hiked up.
15:41These guys are going to come out there, and now look where they're at now.
15:44You know, offense hasn't been running as well.
15:45And personally, we played Seattle, who has a good defense.
15:50They don't have a good offense.
15:51They don't have a good running game.
15:52They have one receiver that can catch football.
15:54For me, personally, I want to see that defense align.
15:57We need a DM badly.
15:58We don't have enough rotation there.
16:00We have too many guys that are beginning to hurt.
16:03That's what, by far, the biggest concern for me, besides the wide receiver group.
16:07Evans is your only guy.
16:08Who else do you have?
16:09Devo can't get any separation from anybody, so he's great when you have a number one receiver
16:14on the field.
16:16But if you're trying to make him that guy, it's just not going to happen.
16:19You don't have any really true number one receivers or even number twos at that part.
16:24I mean, your thoughts?
16:25I disagree.
16:26I see where you're coming from, JT.
16:28Your tight end is a number one receiver, and so is your running back.
16:30I also think that, again, Mike Evans is a true number one.
16:35And if you're supplementing, along with Mike Evans, with not just Debo, who is a little bit
16:41more of a gadget guy at this point with the way he plays, I've always thought Demarcus
16:45Robinson is an underappreciated player.
16:49He's supposed to be back.
16:51We haven't even seen Christian Kirk yet.
16:52Let's take a look at what that looks like, because he's been a good receiver in this
16:56league.
16:56And at some point, listen, I ain't getting off of Dajon Stribling until he lets me know
17:03that something's really, really wrong, because this guy is a dude.
17:07He is a total dude.
17:09So I think, again, the wide receiver question is a maybe, but you've got to see where you're
17:14at in two and a half weeks and sort of understand the health of this whole roster, because they
17:19stand to acquire a ton of guys at that position.