Let’s be honest: I mostly/primarily/really only care about what we are doing this off-season, so while I may give opinions and comments on what the rest of the League is up to, my focus is on the only team (to me) that matters — my beloved San Francisco 49ers.  Tuesday is going to be a wild day, I reckon.  It’s a good thing that this week is Spring Break and probably pretty quiet, because I’ll be checking updates like a man with a problem.

Interesting.  *IF* this pans out, I’m quite intrigued.  Last year, our passing threat was really only Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin. As far as I’m concerned, Vernon quit on us — maybe he was injured (again) but he certainly wasn’t giving 100% effort when he was on the field, and he wasn’t a reliable target; Crabtree also struggled and didn’t perform as we had anticipated; McDonald/Celek/Carrier failed to shine (hence, why I think Baalke made the guarantee that Davis would be back — I reckon, had either of those guys looked like someone who could step into the starting role, that Davis would be traded by now, without question); and Stevie Johnson didn’t see as much action, as the least experienced in the system.

I know that Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin is going to do his job — I’m not worried there; the man’s a warrior — however, *if* it’s true that Vernon is a new-man and ready to play hard… AND, now, with a full year and off-season getting Stevie Johnson more in sync with Kaepernick…. AND we get Torrey Smith who can stretch the field deep??? It could be a HUGE development for us.  The only potential downside (right now, that I see) is that it would further delay the development of Patton and Ellington.  Having three veteran WRs at a higher pay-grade on roster, unless they get outworked this summer, they are going to get the bulk of the playing time.  And, with the signing of Jarryd Hayne (for the purpose of the return game, I imagine) that makes Ellington – in particular – on the edge of redundancy.

One of the downsides of our past few seasons, offensively, is that almost EVERY play that our offense ran was, by and large, capped at 15-20yds….maybe even 10-15yds.  We had solid/reliable inside receivers, but not much in the way of speed or a deep threat.  However, now, if we can have the Smiths (Stevie and Torrey) on the outside — Stevie doing the mid-range/side line work; Torrey on the deep ball — with Anquan “Grown Man” Boldin and Davis attacking the middle, we accomplish a few big things:

1– Give Kaepernick more options; in addition, veteran/experienced options.

2–Expand opposing secondaries, as they no longer could just contain 1-2 receivers 10-15yds from the line of scrimmage.

3–Ease pressure on the running game — if we are able to keep the secondary back, I think that our offensive line is good enough to make lanes, and I think that Hyde/Hunter are good enough to gain yards.  Neither are probably as good at finding holes as Gore, so I don’t know if they’d break off BIG gains, but as long as they’re good for a handful when we need them, that is HUGE.  Losing Gore will be tough but I think it’s still a talented backfield, and, who knows?, maybe we’ll add another RB in the Draft — as insurance.

Oh, not to mention that Baalke/York had said, prior, that they’re taking Kaepernick off the leash — which is a good sign. The thing that annoyed me about last year is that there were many times where Kaepernick held off running in order to throw — which led to either a) high-risk passes, b) incompletions, or c) getting caught by defenders for either a sack or minimal gain.  If they’re taking him off the leash, though, then I’m thinking that we’ll see him get out of the pocket and, if daylight is there, taking off. Seattle’s defenders had said (in that NFC Championship Game) that tackling him was deceivingly difficult.  I think it would be even more difficult if, as a defender, you are have your back to him and are giving him a 20yd cushion because you have to respect Torrey Smith and the deep ball — after all, Kaepernick has the arm (and accuracy) to hit the deep ball: he just hasn’t had the talent in the WR position to make it work.

I know that I said a lot of the same things when we drafted LaMichael James a few years back (I figured we’d use him like a Darren Sproles-type, into the flat against a OLB or Safety), and that didn’t pan out…..at all…..as Roman instead tried using him between the tackles, which was just bizarre, before trying to make him a return specialist….which also didn’t work….before ultimately releasing him after he became a distraction.  So, my visions haven’t always worked out — BUT I think that, if we do land Torrey Smith, there is only one reason we would be pursuing him: utilization of his speed and deep-ball abilities.  Especially, since it’s unlikely we’ll have a shot at any of the premiere deep threat WRs in the Draft.  #GoNiners