- 22 hours ago
Willard and Dibs debate if the 49ers trading for Garrett Wilson would make sense given the state of the 49ers wide receiver room, their contracts, and more.
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00:00All right, to the phones.
00:02Garrett Wilson, bad idea.
00:04Let's find out what you think.
00:06Matt in San Jose.
00:07Hi, Matt.
00:08Thanks for calling.
00:11Hey, man, don't sound so excited to go to the phones, man.
00:14Let's go to the phones.
00:15I want to go to the phones.
00:16Oh, here we go.
00:17I know, I know.
00:20Okay, so first, real quick, I'm glad you brought up the Valprys.
00:25Shout out to Kevin Dana.
00:26I've had to listen all year on radio.
00:28I don't have cable, and he's brought the experience of being a Valprys fan to last.
00:31So shout out to Kevin Dana.
00:32He's awesome.
00:35I don't know that Mooney Ward is an option for the Niners.
00:38Just because of the tragedy he suffered here on his way out,
00:41he mentioned that it's a tough place to be now,
00:43and so I just don't know how that dynamic's going to work.
00:45I would love to have him back if we can get him,
00:49but I just don't know how realistic that is given the situation.
00:52And then as far as the wide receivers are concerned,
00:54you don't want overkill because it's not about just this season.
00:58You're going to have Brock Brady, Kyle Shanahan, and Mike Evans next year.
01:01So it's not like next year is just a dead season.
01:04If they don't win it all this year, it's over.
01:06And it's not.
01:06You've got a whole lot of reinforcements coming back.
01:09The defensive line is full of a bunch of pups.
01:11So be mindful that next year, Pearsall comes back.
01:14You have Stribbling.
01:15You want Garrett Wilson to mix with Mike Evans and those guys too?
01:18That's a lot of action happening there.
01:22Yeah, Matt, I fully agree, and I know what some people –
01:25Matt, thanks for calling me.
01:26We didn't need to make it sound like we weren't happy to talk to you.
01:28Super glum.
01:30Go to the phones.
01:31Lopey donkey.
01:32No, he makes a good point, but I know what a lot of people are saying.
01:37And I get it.
01:38I really do.
01:39Niner fans are like, just don't talk to me about next year.
01:44Figure it out.
01:46Capschmap is what you always say.
01:48Capschmap.
01:49At the same time, I don't even love it for this year.
01:54I just think it's so – everybody thinks it's so turnkey.
01:58Let's bring in a wide receiver who's a one, but he's never been on a good team.
02:02He's never played with a good quarterback.
02:05And get him up to speed really quick and potentially at the expense of other
02:10very accomplished receivers who have been in this system for a while.
02:14And no, I'm not talking about Watkins and Cowley.
02:17I'm talking about Evans and Debo and Robinson and when he gets here,
02:22shriveling.
02:23People who have been doing camp.
02:25They've been doing OTAs.
02:26They've been doing really good things to the tune of the best offense in football.
02:30I just – I don't want to deactivate those people so that Garrett Wilson,
02:35with $30 million a year, can come here for four more years after this one.
02:39That just doesn't feel like good.
02:42By the way, we haven't talked about what are you giving up to get him.
02:45Like, this is not a rental.
02:47And so this is probably somebody's one.
02:51This is at minimum a two.
02:53But probably a one in order to get him.
02:55I think it's horrible asset management.
02:57Probably.
02:57And I think if you look at what you've done in the draft,
03:00unless you are pretty convinced that Ricky Pearsall is just not going to work out,
03:04which I think that he gets at least one more season to show that,
03:07I don't believe he gets credit for this season.
03:10So next year, it would have been year four option time.
03:13Instead, it is year three.
03:15Stripling may or may not actually play this year.
03:17He may come back and not quite be ready,
03:20but he looks like a bright spot for the future.
03:22So to put $30 million in another wide receiver for a team that is still going forward
03:28going to be, I believe, a run first, McCaffrey, have a fullback if you can,
03:33use your tight end type of team.
03:35You're not a team.
03:36Shanahan is not, even going back to his Atlanta days,
03:39they went three wide sometimes, but it's not what he is comfortable with.
03:43He doesn't even do that.
03:44Can I make another comp that you and I have talked about before?
03:47You know who doesn't make the playoffs very often in recent years?
03:51The Bengals.
03:52So don't be them.
03:54Don't do this, oh, but we've got a $40 million receiver
03:58and a $33 million receiver.
04:01Watch us cook.
04:02Okay.
04:04I'm waiting.
04:05I'm waiting for you to not go eight and nine again.
04:09Let me know when you're ready.
04:10Yeah, maybe this weekend.
04:12Where's the rest of your team?
04:14Again, I'm going to keep striking that point that I made yesterday.
04:18Balance, balance, balance.
04:20That's what I want from this 49er team.
04:22Be awesome on both sides of the ball.
04:25Right now, I know you're awesome on offense.
04:27I think you can be and have been at times on defense.
04:32So, yeah.
04:33And by the way, if there's somebody you want to be terrified about with injury,
04:37I think you're bringing up the wrong names when you bring up CMC and Evans.
04:40It's Nick Bosa.
04:42It's the guy with three torn ACLs that you've got to worry about playing consecutive games
04:47for a long period of time.
04:48And he popped a calf warming up.
04:50Correct.
04:50So let's just keep that in mind.
04:52And he's been out for a month and he was going through his own personal rev up to get ready
04:56for practice.
04:57And he popped a calf and that cost him a month, if not more.
05:01So, yeah, that is a bigger concern.
05:03And you mentioned Garrett Wilson, who missed more than half the year.
05:06Nine games last year.
05:07And I'm just looking at the pro football focus numbers.
05:10If you partake, if you don't, then go ahead and plug your ears.
05:13But just in the run blocking metric for Garrett Wilson, he's at like a 50.
05:19He's not a very good run blocker.
05:20Thank you for bringing that up.
05:22I can tell you right now, Kyle Shannon doesn't want him.
05:25John Lynch doesn't want him.
05:27He's down here.
05:27He has a 51.9 rating in the run blocking metric.
05:33Then you can't play here.
05:34Right.
05:34And that's why Juwan Jennings was so good here is because he's a top two or three run
05:39blocker at the wide receiver position.
05:40So let me get this straight.
05:41The Jets don't want to deal him.
05:43The 49ers have no interest in his style and they have no room for him whatsoever.
05:49But come on, dude, don't you want a Super Bowl?
05:54I'm just telling you, bad, bad, bad idea jeans.
05:58I mean, be the contrarian.
05:59Make it make sense.
06:01And the thing that I keep looking at and nobody wants to do this because, you know, we don't
06:06think about it except for our team.
06:07The Jets do not want to trade good players.
06:09Their GM and their head coach are in their second year.
06:12I do believe that they will get a third year because they got dealt a hand without a quarterback.
06:17And so and you mentioned this before.
06:18I think they have two of the top 11 picks in the upcoming draft, the way things sit record
06:24wise.
06:24And so if you unless the owner decides, you know what, the coach and I'm not a huge fan
06:29of the coach, although he hired my old neighbor.
06:31And so I love him for that.
06:32I brought him with him from Detroit.
06:34Yeah.
06:34But I'm not sure if he's cut out to be a head coach.
06:37Doesn't seem like it.
06:38Don't know about the GM either, but they either get a third year or they don't.
06:42And if they don't, well, then you probably get into a fire sale.
06:45But that would have to happen pretty quickly.
06:47Yeah, like if I'm the owner, one of the first things I'm telling them right now, even when
06:51they get a third year or not, like, please don't trade.
06:54We're not trading Garrett Wilson.
06:56I want Garrett Wilson on the team when when we do get a new coach and a new quarterback.
07:00I'd like Garrett Wilson on the team.
07:02We paid him for a reason.
07:04So let's keep going, though.
07:06Like, let's talk it out.
07:08I mean, I know a lot of Niner fans don't agree.
07:10Jonathan in the city.
07:11Hi, Jonathan.
07:12Thanks.
07:12What's up?
07:13Yeah.
07:14Thanks for taking my phone call.
07:16Can't wait to hear who's the next player they're going to bring in.
07:20But I don't think it's going to be a wide receiver because they got wide receivers who are injured
07:26right now, but they're scheduled to be possibly coming back pretty soon.
07:32So and also, from what I've heard, this Kyle Shanahan offensive scheme is very complicated.
07:39You know, it's very demanding and stuff to wide receivers.
07:42So it's going to be hard to bring in somebody and just, hey, you know, on the on the on
07:47the
07:48it's learned his offense right away.
07:49And because of those two factors, I think the move is not to shy away from black carrying the ball
07:56and also have more Christian McCaffrey.
08:01It's a slot receiver.
08:02I mean, he's awesome at it.
08:04I saw Tom Brady and the Patriots win all them Super Bowls in the first three, at least.
08:11And he's just throwing to a bunch of halfbacks.
08:14Number 33, 35, 34.
08:16I can't even I don't even know.
08:17But it seems like that position, you know, that that that that part of the field, nobody
08:23pays attention to.
08:24It's always open.
08:25So I think that would be a move.
08:28Jonathan, thanks, man.
08:29I appreciate it.
08:30Listen, you know, the the idea of Mike Evans and his availability in the playoffs, I understand
08:37that scares people.
08:39It scares people.
08:40But I mean, here's another way of looking at it.
08:43And I think you just kind of said this with the metrics you're bringing up.
08:47In my opinion, if that's the thought process, we've got to get Garrett Wilson because I'm
08:53scared that Mike Evans won't be healthy in the playoffs.
08:55I don't think Garrett Wilson replaces Mike Evans.
08:58They couldn't be more different.
08:59That's not like he's just now starting to move in the most recent scheme with the Jets
09:04to be the boundary X receiver.
09:06But he's way smaller than Mike.
09:08Yeah.
09:09He's a slot receiver.
09:10Like, by the way, if you've got the blocking metrics up for wide receivers, do you?
09:15Yeah.
09:15What's Brian Thomas, Jr.?
09:17Oh, he was slightly higher, but not that much higher.
09:21And part of it is he doesn't really play.
09:23Hey, he's coming off a 14 snap game.
09:26So you mentioned he's fallen out of favor.
09:28And even, you know, Jawan Jennings, when he wasn't getting a lot of targets, he still
09:32was out there because he could block.
09:33And so I don't think that there's something up with Brian Thomas.
09:36And maybe he has a Marvin Harrison, Jr.
09:38Sort of a bounce back where new spot.
09:41And now Marvin is in Houston.
09:43And it seems like he's doing better.
09:46He's not all the way back to where everyone thought he would be, but he's doing better
09:49than he was in Arizona.
09:51Can you check one more?
09:52Sure.
09:52Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts.
09:55We know that they're not only having a fire sale, Downs requested a trade earlier today.
10:01So Josh Downs also, in fact, he's even smaller than Garrett Wilson.
10:05So he is not going to be a Mike Evans Boundary X replacement.
10:10By the way, I know I got a duck when I say this.
10:12Do you know who would have the first opportunity to replace Mike Evans as the Boundary X in the
10:17playoffs if Mike weren't healthy?
10:19There's one answer.
10:21Uh, probably Brandon Cooks.
10:24No!
10:25I'm going to go with Dejan Stribling.
10:28Because that's what he's going to be in this offense when Mike leaves.
10:32That's what he is at his core, at his tradition as a player.
10:37He is a true Boundary X1.
10:40They're not going to put him there yet because Mike is here and he's a rookie.
10:43When he can't get healthy.
10:45I mean, he played a quarter of football.
10:46But he could be healthy in January.
10:48Perhaps.
10:48I mean, he's allowed to be.
10:49Yes.
10:49But if you don't have Mike Evans, then, you know, I don't know who you put over there.
10:54It might be probably not Demarcus Robinson.
10:56He's more of your straight line guy on the other side of the formation.
10:59Josh down 63.3 as a blocking wide receiver.
11:03Not bad.
11:04Getting better.
11:04That's actually, it's not bad.
11:06Keenan Allen's at 69.4.
11:09I know he's got some possible legal troubles, but I don't know if.
11:12They're DUI.
11:13You know what I mean?
11:14And I don't mean to dismiss that.
11:15No, but he was facing, he's facing a suspension, but I think his trial got pushed back to January.
11:21Maybe December.
11:23Keenan Allen is not a, not the worst idea I've ever heard.
11:26And, and I mean, that's now you're talking about a, you know, move from the sixth to the seventh round
11:32type of a deal.
11:33Um, so I'm not against another wide receiver, but, um, high price, top of the market video game Madden type
11:42stuff.
11:43I just, sorry to be the wet blanket.
11:45It makes zero sense for the San Francisco 49ers.
11:49It usually doesn't happen.
11:50And if you look at their history as people who trade at the deadline, it's not usually what they do.
11:55And I was looking earlier at the McCaffrey situation, they go to Atlanta, they rush 13 times for 41 yards
12:03at Atlanta and you lose.
12:05And I'm sure Kyle's pulling out his hair and stuff.
12:07And so after that game, that's when they went out and got McCaffrey for four picks, a second, third, fourth
12:13and fifth, because you liked your team, but you were desperate for somebody who could run the ball.
12:17And your cap situation made sense to make Christian McCaffrey, your lead running back for a long term.
12:23And at the time, Christian was what?
12:2526 years old, I think, whatever it was.
12:27And so, um, that made, that made all kinds of sense.
12:31The, the, the, the San Francisco 49ers right now, um, they, they have built an entire plan around Brock's contract
12:42around stripling and Ricky Pierce all.
12:45And I'm not saying that, like, I get it.
12:47You need, you're, you're all about now.
12:49I am too.
12:50We're all about this year.
12:52I just, like, I got all kinds of questions as, as to whether Garrett Wilson would even help you.
12:58I don't even think he would help you.
13:00He doesn't, he doesn't do what Mike does.
13:02You just said he's a terrible blocker downfield.
13:05He, he's going to want to be a one that job is taken here.
13:09I like everybody's supposed to come back.
13:12You're going to start deactivating players who you like, who have succeeded in this system, who have been here for
13:17a while.
13:18I, I just, that's all I like.
13:20It's just time to put the joystick down.
13:23John Lynch has actually got a phone and contracts and a cap.
13:28Not a, this is an Xbox.
13:31So that's, that's all.
13:33Um, let's go to Jordan in Walnut Creek.
13:36Hi, Jordan.
13:37Thanks for calling.
13:39Yeah, I appreciate it, guys.
13:40I appreciate you guys always getting me on.
13:42Um, okay.
13:43I don't really know where to start here, but like in general, Willard, I feel like you're on a hill
13:49that you're almost afraid to get off of at this point because a couple of things are going on.
13:55You're over indexing extremely hard on stripling's availability.
14:00If he comes back and his capability, if he comes back, I love stripling.
14:05We have not seen more than four and a half minutes of this guy in the NFL.
14:10Second, you are killing two birds with one stone.
14:13If you get Josh Downs or Gary Wilson, please don't bring up Brian Thomas.
14:17That's a science project.
14:18We're going for the Superbowl.
14:19That's a Raiders move.
14:21This is, this is, this is what's going on.
14:25Evans next year.
14:27There's no, there's no great chance he plays more than eight games or if he even plays next year, his
14:33contract basically says we could just add things after this season.
14:37Correct.
14:37And we have stripling.
14:39So far, we've seen with stripling, okay, like you have a little injury bug.
14:44I think we should be overly cautious about that after the Pearsaw woes.
14:47Yes, Pearsaw's coming back.
14:49I know you haven't been touching on him, but that's just another guy.
14:52Sorry, man.
14:53We just can't play this game anymore with you.
14:55We're just going to go a separate way.
14:56If you're great in the NFL, awesome.
14:58Debo next year.
14:59I don't know what he's going to do.
15:00And Debo's a jet sweep guy.
15:01That's not even a true receiver.
15:02Jordan, can I stop you?
15:04Hold on.
15:04Hold on.
15:04Can I stop you?
15:05Because with each receiver, you're talking about next year.
15:09And I thought the whole point of doing something like this was to push all the chips into the middle
15:13of the table about a Super Bowl this year.
15:16And so you brought up Josh Downs and Garrett Wilson.
15:20I'm going to separate those because I don't mind Josh Downs.
15:23Josh Downs is a free agent at the end of the year.
15:25Very cheap.
15:26Is not going to cost you anything more than what DeForest Buckner just cost you.
15:30As opposed to Garrett Wilson, which is signed for $32 million a year all the way through 2029, is going
15:37to cost you first-round capital.
15:39And would you maybe address what we already said, which is he does not play 49er-style football and does
15:45not do what Mike Evans does.
15:47So it's not about, like, overly caping for Stribbling, who I'll admit I love.
15:52And I'll grant you that we can't count on that right now.
15:56But I don't – the other questions that are there, I don't think Garrett answers them, Jordan.
16:03Okay.
16:04So, great points.
16:06What I'm saying is if you are gun-shy to bring in Garrett Wilson this season, understand he will provide
16:12value for your team long-term because we've been incapable of drafting an alpha receiver.
16:19This – okay.
16:20It's not a plug-and-play with we need a replacement for Evans.
16:24You have to understand Kyle can design this offense around the best players on the field.
16:29I know it's simple to think, oh, it's working so well with Evans.
16:32We need another 6'5 Hall of Fame X.
16:35No, you don't need that.
16:37You just need a guy who separates.
16:39And Garrett Wilson, if you watch any tape, separates better than –
16:43He's –
16:43Look back at –
16:44He's fantastic, Jordan.
16:46But again –
16:46He doesn't separate, but he just catches every throw.
16:49He's a good player.
16:50He does not block.
16:51Brock, were you listening yesterday when we played the comments that Kyle Shanahan made two years ago as to why
16:57they gave up DeForest Buckner?
16:59Because this is another important point and why I keep saying the Garrett Wilson brigade is playing Madden.
17:04Do you understand that if I bought everything you're saying and the value he would provide going forward when you
17:11sign up for four more years at 30 mil a year,
17:14have you done the list and the exercise of now who the 49ers will be cutting next year because Brock
17:20Purdy's contract escalates to over $50 million next season?
17:26So you bring in Garrett and, like, have you done the exercise of now who's leaving because of that move?
17:34Yes, and the thing is, $30 million at this rate?
17:38Like, people used to hate on the Jimmy Garoppolo contract for $25 million.
17:41Two weeks later, the new norm is $35 million.
17:44$30 million for an X receiver.
17:46We have – that could be a bargain in two years from now.
17:49So Garrett Wilson coming in with all this said, you have to look at it as you're talking about Boza
17:58missing games.
17:59If your defense gets worse, you better make that offense better.
18:01So you have to have this, like, little teeter-tot battle of, like, okay, is CMC going to be here
18:07next year?
18:08The Achilles tendinosis is kind of taking on a new life.
18:11Is George Kittle going to be – like, so the windows in the NFL are two to three windows.
18:16Ours are going to open up and close every four years with the Bronx, but it's like, this is the
18:21window.
18:22We have no guarantees with CMC, George Kittle, Boza, any of those guys next year.
18:26Go for it now, dude.
18:27Just, like, don't worry about the assets.
18:29Look at the Rams every season trading away, guys.
18:32Jordan, thank you for the call.
18:34It's a fun debate.
18:35We do not see it the same way.
18:36I'm less worried about the assets going out than I am what the contract is, and it's $23 million and
18:42then $36 million, $36 million, $38.5 million,
18:45and this is for a receiver that you didn't draft, and so that's already on the books.
18:50And with Stribling and Pearsall, you have the optionality right now, Mike Dunleavy,
18:55to where if Ricky Pearsall can't get healthy, well, he's on his rookie deal, and that's it.
19:00And if Stribling goes down a road of not being available, same thing.
19:03You're not financially invested in those guys.
19:06And by the way, to say that this is sort of like a bargain type of a thing,
19:10Garrett Wilson is the eighth highest paid wide receiver in the National Football League.
19:13Number eight.
19:14Is that by average annual?
19:16It's by both, total value and average annual.
19:18So this is not going to be a bargain anytime soon.
19:22I could argue he's overpaid.
19:23He makes more money than Chris Olave.
19:25He makes more money than Amon Ross St. Brown.
19:27He makes more money than A.J. Brown.
19:30He makes more money than T. Higgins.
19:32He makes more money than George Pickens and Devontae Smith and Jamison Williams and Nico Collins.
19:38He makes more money than that.
19:39This is not going to be a bargain anytime soon.
19:41And the problem is this contract was structured in such a way that all the money is spread out.
19:46The Niners like to pay a lot of it in bonus.
19:48That way they can spread that part of it out.
19:51They can prorate it.
19:52But he's on the books for legitimate cap hits for the next four years.