In a bit of a shocker, and despite scattered reports that a trade like this might be on the horizon, the San Francisco 49ers were aggressive in acquiring wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders from the Denver Broncos on Tuesday. The 10-year veteran instantly becomes the team's best and most experienced wideout within a group comprised mostly of players with three or fewer NFL seasons on their resumes.
How much better does the addition of Sanders make the 6-0 49ers? That was the question presented to Peter King of NBC Sports on Tuesday night during an interview on 95.7 The Game. Does the addition of Sanders catapult the San Francisco into a Super Bowl contender?
"This trade does not make them a favorite to play in the Super Bowl," King told Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto, and Matt Kolsky.
King insists that he likes the trade, and he likes Sanders. The 49ers gave up third- and fourth-round picks to pull him out of Denver while receiving a fifth-rounder back. King feels that it may have been a bit too much to give up for Sanders, but in this ever-changing NFL landscape where teams are willing to be more aggressive than in past years, it isn't a surprise.
"Look, Emmanuel Sanders is an upgrade for them at receiver," King continued, "but Emmanuel Sanders doesn't catapult them into the Super Bowl favorites role. He's a nice receiver, who's 32 years old. It's a nice trade, it's a good addition, but it's not revolutionary."
King notes that he would have rather had Mohamed Sanu than Sanders. The 49ers reportedly tried to acquire Sanu from the Atlanta Falcons before he was traded to the New England Patriots and before the Sanders deal.
"Do not get me wrong," King added, "I like this acquisition. I really do. But he's also missed eight games the last two-and-a-half years with injuries. Again, I like the deal. I'm just not convinced it's any nirvana deal for the 49ers."
You can listen to the entire conversation with King below.
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