The San Francisco 49ers already made an NFL trade for Jonathan Martin and they could look to make a move again, as the team could be trading up for names like Mike Evans, Sammy Watkins or Marqise Lee in the upcoming draft over signing players like Julian Edelman, Hakeem Nicks, Sidney Rice or Steve Smith as free agents on the market.
The Niners aren't afraid to make moves in the offseason with trades and they aren't afraid to move up in drafts, as they showed with Colin Kaepernick a couple years ago and now they could do that same for Evans or Watkins. The team has a need at wide receiver after Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree and while it's not glaring, Boldin is a player that is getting up there in age, while Crabtree is still a year removed from serious surgery and after Mario Manningham did nothing for the team in his tenure, they could look to the free agent market or the draft for an option.
Evans is the physical freak of the draft and he could be a great option, but the team will have to trade up to get him, while Watkins is likely just out of their reach unless they trade into the top five of the draft. ESPN.com is reporting that the team is interested in Julian Edelman, Hakeem Nicks, Sidney Rice and Steve Smith and other names on the market include James Jones, Antonio Holmes and Emmanuel Sanders as well as Jerome Simpson.
Edelman picked a good time to hit the market, as he took advantage of the fact that the Patriots had an injury to Danny Amendola and he set career highs with 105 catches for 1,056 yards and six touchdowns and like Eric Decker, he could cash in. Nicks is a physically gifted receiver coming off of two down years and now he could be looking to sign with the Niners and he could be a nice red zone threat for the team with Crabtree. Last season he had zero touchdowns and red zone catches, but a few years ago he had back to back 70 plus catch and 1,000 yard seasons and the Niners would be hoping for that if he joins the team. The team could add another nice element to the offense with someone like Evans or Watkins and Greg Roman could have a field day with Nicks, while Edelman seems like a good fit for Harbaugh.
The draft could be the best option though, as the team is coming in with double digit draft picks and they could make a deal to move up and Evans comes in at 6 foot 5 and he put up huge numbers in college. The team has some major decisions to make and trading up for a wide receiver would be huge and could put them up over the Seattle Seahawks after they lost Golden Tate.
