Joe Staley revealed on Wednesday that he played a small part in getting pass rusher Dee Ford to the San Francisco 49ers. Before finalizing the trade for the former Kansas City Chiefs player, team decision-makers asked Staley about Ford.
The two most recently faced each other during a Week 3 contest last season. It was a matchup that left Staley impressed with Ford. Just over five months later, they became teammates.
"He's one of the most explosive players I've played against, and he was definitely a challenge to go against last year and every time I've ever played him," Staley said when asked what he told the 49ers about Ford.
It's not uncommon for team decision-makers to ask their veteran players for input on free-agent targets. It's unknown how much Staley's input influenced the 49ers' decision to pursue the trade aggressively. San Francisco ended up only needing to give up a second-round pick in next year's draft in exchange for the talented pass rusher.
Staley is entering his 13th NFL season, so he has a lot of experience protecting quarterbacks and going against top NFL defenders. He name-dropped a few on Wednesday who, like Ford, are fast off the line of scrimmage, including Von Miller and Demarcus Lawrence.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic asked Staley what kind of information the 49ers inquire about regarding offseason targets. And Joe Staley, being Joe Staley, gave a hilariously sarcastic response.
"I gave a detailed scouting report of about 20 different pass rushers and inside 3-techniques this year," he joked. "You know, strengths, positives, their strengths and weaknesses. Broke down their film, their best games, worst games. I went out to where they were this offseason and worked out with them for a week, put them through the wringer. Just kind of trying to break them down and see who's really about football (and) who's not.
"It was an exhausting offseason for me but I think we were able to land Dee Ford out of the whole process and I think that's pretty damn good."
In all seriousness, Ford showed Staley during that Week 3 matchup that he has an explosive first step and was worthy of the 49ers' pursuit.
"That first step, that quickness, I was like 100 percent certain that he was offsides (in that game)," Staley said. "It was that fast. But going back to the film, he just timed it up super, and he was right on it."
