Al Sacco: 49ers need good players, not a stockpile of draft picks

Our own Al Sacco joined Zak and Guru on 95.7 The Game to talk about the San Francisco 49ers. One of the many topics that he discussed was the possibility of the team trading WR Torrey Smith or OT Joe Staley prior to the trade deadline earlier this week.

"You have to feel for the guy," Sacco said regarding Smith. "He came from the Ravens and he averaged about seven targets a game with the Ravens. And he's a hit or miss guy. He brought in about 50-percent of those targets. He averaged three and a half catches, 56 yards, and he scored 30 total touchdowns. But he is what he is. He's a deep threat and you have to take chances with him. The Niners aren't doing that. He's only averaging about four targets per game with the 49ers over his 23 games with the Niners. Two catches a game and 37 yards a game. He's only got six touchdowns.

"Even when he is open, it doesn't seem like the quarterbacks can hit him anyway. And if you watch the game film, there's been a lot of routes that he's run well and he's been open and the quarterbacks either don't see him or they're not accurate. You really have to feel for the guy.

"But in terms of them trading him, I didn't understand it. I didn't understand it with Staley either because this team needs good players. They don't have any good players. I can see if they were up against the cap, but you're talking about a team next year that's going to have about $100 million in cap space. What's the point to get rid of those guys? If you have a new quarterback coming in, especially a young one, don't you want a Pro Bowl left tackle and deep threat for that quarterback? I think it made a lot more sense to keep those guys around.

"They wanted a third round pick for Smith. Look at some of the third rounders Trent Baalke's taken. Corey Lemonier, Eli Harold. These aren't guys that are on par with Torrey Smith. So if you have a receiver who is 27 years old, in the prime of his career, keep him around to help the next quarterback. Keep Joe Staley around to help the next quarterback. They need good players and they need talent and I don't think stockpiling draft pick, especially when the general manager isn't very good at drafting is still there, is the smartest move."

Sacco also discussed the lack of a quarterback of the future on the roster and other topics. You can listen to the entire interview on 95.7 The Game.