Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
I've asked this question before, what is this elusive number one receiver people say we crave? Has it led to ANY teams winning a championship in the last several seasons? It would be great to have, but I'm sorry, it's not THE missing element. I'm ok with a small trade up, similar to the one we did we get Eric Reid, but it would be insane to use a boatload of picks to get this number one receiver you seek. I bet the Atlanta Falcons are missing the five picks they gave up to get Julio Jones. It's just not worth it. Would you have been ok with the 49ers trading up the necessary picks in the 2014 draft to get Odell Beckham? Please keep in mind who we would no longer have on this team if we made such a trade.
Now, if Jalen Strong is still sitting there around the 20th pick, then Baalke should do it. In 2015, I think WR is finally high up on the 49ers need list, so I'd expect one within our first three picks. I'm actually hoping they take two. One as a Boldin replacement (one year early) and another to be a deep threat.
Top WRs are valuable, but not necessary. You need a pass rush, QB, and O-Line. Those 3 are the priorities IMO in building a team.
After that its just gravy in case you run into a team that also has a QB, pass rush , and O-Line.
I think our problem is our receiving core as a whole is one-dimensional. Don't really have a burner, some super quick slot guy, or a WR with size. As a result I think our receiving core is easy to match up with, some of the big pass plays happen as Kap extends the play and broken coverage results (ie Crabtree 4th down reception).
Teams don't have to adjust to our WR threat. All a D has to be worried about is Kap's legs, makes it easier to play D against us so long as they don't lose contain. Even though we have a great run game with Gore/Hyde, were not a play aciton offense. s**t Roman will be like "pass play, 5-wide WR now!!!", run play "put in 3 TE's and a FB!!!!!"