Boldin deal steal for San Francisco

First and most important re

sponse to the Anquan Boldin trade:

Wow, what a deal for the San Fran

cisco 49ers, even if this is built to

be a one-year rental.

This is how you work an offsea

son. You build up a stash of draft

picks, create (some) flexibility on

the payroll, then jump at a potential

game-changing move when the risk

is lowest, the cost is almost nil and

the chances of success are highest.

The 49ers still need help at other

positions, but you can cross off

playmaking wide receiver.

I’m reminded that when former

49ers General Manager Scot Mc-

Cloughan drafted Michael Crabtree

in 2009, McCloughan was most ef

fusive when he said that Crabtree

was the closest thing to Boldin in

that draft. Now the 49ers have both

of them.

The McCloughan/Trent Baalke

combo administration has always

loved big aggressive players andBoldin is the definition of that at wide receiver.

Boldin and Crabtree are different kinds of NFL receivers now, both effective, as the postseason proved.

Crabtree is a glider/route-runner and someone who likes to get into open space, then run through tackles if he can.

Boldin isn’t a speedster, either, but he’s pure physicality, someone who can bump with defensive backs and still go up and get a ball, and I do believe Carlos Rogers is aware of that from Super Bowl XLVII.

And that’s what the 49ers and Colin Kaepernick really could’ve used in the Super Bowl (I’m thinking the last three plays at the goal line, maybe?).

The point of this: The Baltimore Ravens weren’t going to keep Boldin at $6 million for one more year, so they went looking for any kind of deal knowing that they were going to cut him soon. The 49ers had theextra pick, and there’s your trade. Anquan Boldin for a sixth-round pick.

It’s weird for one Super Bowl team to hand over a key player in the game to the other Super Bowl team for very little, but oh well, that’s how these things happen sometimes.

The 49ers have apparently made the decision that they’re OK with the $6 million, and if this is a oneyear rental, they’re OK with that, too. One year of Boldin and Crabtree, with Vernon Davis in the middle … that’s not bad at all. I would think Kaepernick is quite pleased, and Greg Roman, too.

And if the 49ers can restructure or extend Boldin’s deal, he’s a far better two- or three-year prospect for them than Randy Moss was when they landed him last season.

That’s one reason I don’t think this in any way was a straight reaction to Seattle’s big deal to land wide receiver Percy Harvin from Minnesota a few hours earlier Monday.

All deals have lives of their own; I’m sure Baalke was working on this one for days if not weeks. You don’t make deals reacting to your rival, you do what’s best for your team.

Harvin was an intriguing deal for Seattle, and he definitely makes the Seahawks an even more challenging opponent than they were before, and they already were very challenging for the 49ers.

Boldin was a fantastic pickup for the 49ers, no matter what Seattle is doing.

And now these are probably the two most talented teams in the NFL, across the board (especially when you subtract Boldin from Baltimore). Whew, the NFC West is going to be fun for a while.

Richard Sherman defending Boldin twice a year and maybe three times if there’s a playoff meeting? Just think about that for a while.