Let's be real, Brandon Lloyd may be at the top of the NFL as a receiver this season, but no one here looks at him as "The One That Got Away." As a matter of fact, I remember the absolute euphoria amongst the fans when the 49er received a 3rd (in 2006) AND a 4th round pick (in 2007) for the notoriously ball-shy rapping wonder called B.Lloyd.
To be fair - anyone who saw Lloyd play saw the potential. In fact, he made one of the most amazing catches I've ever seen in a game against Seattle. (Just watch the first 38 seconds of the clip below to see the catch.)
But, at the end of the day his rap "career", locker room demeanor, and harrowing ability to duck away from footballs thrown at him sealed his doom.
I thought it might be interesting to see what the draft picks that the 49ers received for Lloyd turned out to be. Now, 3 to 4 years later, were those picks worth more than a petulant and inconsistent wide receiver?
The 49ers traded Lloyd to Redskins and in return drafted Brandon Williams (3rd round in 2006) and Jay Moore (4th round in 2007). Brandon Williams was drafted as a receiver/returner and fizzled out quickly in San Francisco. He was picked up by St. Louis in 2007 and was part of their final round of cuts. He played in the pre-season for the Steelers in 2009 and didn't make it past the final round of cuts.
A 3rd pick not even making the roster after year one - Verdict? BIG BUST.
Jay Moore was drafted as one of those tweeners that thrive in a 3-4 defense. In 2007, Mike Nolan was still trying to assemble the components of his 3-4/4-3 defense and Moore was supposed to have a rotational role in that scheme. He was placed on injured reserve after the final pre-season game in 2007 and in 2008 and it was viewed as kind of a good thing. Moore was going to need to learn how to play linebacker and a season on IR would help that come along.
The injury bug struck again in 2008 and Moore tore one of his triceps. He was signed to the Rams practice squad in 2009 and then kind-of signed with the Cowboys before backing out of the deal at the last second. He now plays for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League.
No regular season games played and 2 trips to IR - Verdict? BUST.
Interestingly enough, the extra picks from the Lloyd trade allowed us to trade up in 2006 (due to an extra third round pick) and get Manny Lawson. And in 2007 the extra 4th was part of the package that helped us land Joe Staley.
In the end, it looks like the players we got for Lloyd were absolute busts. But the extra picks gave us some flexibility in the draft, allowing us to draft Lawson and Staley.
Waiting on a player to finally get his head on straight after 7 years in the NFL or getting draft picks that indirectly resulted in two-starters? It wasn't the fleecing we thought, but even in retrospect it was a move the 49ers would (and should) make again.
Especially after hearing this...