This was a very quiet draft in terms of trades involving players. Although teams were pulling off traditional pick-for-pick trades, there was only one important trade involving a player.
The Buffalo Bills traded Stevie Johnson to the San Francisco 49ers, and they didn’t even get a pick for this year in return. Instead, the 49ers sent them a conditional fourth-round pick that could become a third-rounder.
This was a huge move for the 49ers, who obviously made a move toward improving their offense in the draft by taking running back Carlos Hyde and wide receiver Bruce Ellington. For the Bills, moving Johnson was a foregone conclusion after they traded up in the draft to take Sammy Watkins.
After trading for Mike Williams earlier in the offseason, the Bills don’t Johnson on top of Williams, Watkins and the speedy Robert Woods, who they drafted last year.
After three great seasons, Johnson raised some red flags in 2013. He missed four games, and his yards per catch averaged dropped by about two yards compared to his previous three years when he went for three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
But the 49ers really won this trade. Heading into the offseason, the 49ers knew they had to do two things: Grab a cornerback and bolster their passing attack.
In the passing department, Colin Kaepernick really dropped off following his run with the 49ers to the Super Bowl. He had 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 16 games, and San Francisco finished 30th in the league in the regular season in passing offense, going for 186.2 yards per game.
While their rushing attack was third in the NFL, it’s no secret that in today’s NFL, you need to be better than 30th in the league in passing to make a deep playoff run. They already have Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree, but Crabtree has a history of injury and Boldin turns 34 in October.
Boldin led the team with 1,179 receiving yards last season, followed by tight end Vernon Davis with 850 yards. But after Davis, it totally falls off. Crabtree, who appeared in just five regular season game, was third with 284 and one touchdown.
Now, they will have a presumably healthy Crabtree, Boldin, Johnson and Davis. Boldin is more of a jump and possession guy, while Johnson likes to go over the top and catch deep balls, which isn’t really Kaepernick’s strength as a quarterback, but Johnson can at least stretch the defense.
Johnson was a less reliable receiver than Boldin last year, with Johnson pulling in 51 percent of his targets compared to Boldin’s 66 percent (both paid subscriptions required for both).
Still, he is only one year removed from going for 1,046 yards and six touchdowns with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing to him. Kaepernick is a much better athlete than Fitzpatrick and can extend plays, allowing Johnson and the other receivers to get open.
On the other side of the field, Boldin has been revitalized by going to San Francisco. He’s coming off his first 1,000-yard season since 2009, and he scored his most touchdowns since 2010, his first year with the Baltimore Ravens.
And, despite missing most of the season, Crabtree still put up his highest yards per catch average of his career. Really, each receiver brings a different set of skills to the table, and Davis shouldn’t be forgotten about over the middle and as a threat in the red zone.
Ellington also has great speed off the line of scrimmage and can make some good cuts. Since he’ll likely be going against the opponent’s nickel or dime corner, Ellington can get open and size-wise, he’ll match up nicely against some of the more depth corners in the league.
With this influx of weapons, this puts more pressure on Kaepernick to perform as a quarterback. He has the ability to run, but there’s no excuse now for him to not put up better passing numbers.
In the NFC West, he’ll be facing the best defense in the league (Seattle) twice, the best front seven in the league (St. Louis) and one of the best young corners in Patrick Patterson (Arizona) twice this season. Those are all tough matchups, but San Fran’s passing and rushing attack are both so strong now following the draft that they need to be putting up better offensive numbers.
The Bills were wise to get something for Johnson now that there was basically no need for him with Watkins coming in, but the 49ers are now primed to have one of the best receiving corps. in the league, with receivers who all bring different talents to the field.