3 potential edge rushers San Francisco could pursue for 2018

The Small Trade Route: Shane Ray

There are so many reasons why the 49ers should make this move. Shane Ray is a young, talented edge rusher who was able to learn from both Denver Broncos EDGEs Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware. On top of that, the Broncos and 49ers have a strong front-office relationship, making a trade much easier to enact.

But if Ray is so good, why would the Broncos even consider moving him?

A major reason why the Broncos would consider trading Shane Ray is that they arguably have three better edge rushers than him. Apart from Miller, the Broncos have Shaquil Barrett and the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Bradley Chubb.

Austin Gayle of Pro Football Focus wrote that “Barrett, though much better against the run, also has provided value as a pass-rusher, recording a career-high 43 total pressures this past season.” Meanwhile, when on the Talk of Fame Sports Network Broadcast (h/t nfl.com), Ware had this to say about Chubb possibly being as good as Ware was.

"You know the thing is he can be… He’s one of those guys who’s mature, he listens, and that’s what you want from a young guy. Because some of them come in very arrogant, saying, “OK, I’m in the league now.” But for me, he has that, “I just arrived’ mentality. What do I need to do to deliver?”"

When a future Hall of Famer thinks a rookie can be as good as he was, you don’t bench that player. Both Barrett and Chubb have better potential, and in Barrett’s case, have been a more well-rounded player.

Apart from being buried on the depth chart, Ray has also been dealing with the injury bug during his career. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted back in early June that Ray would miss the start of the season recovering from a wrist surgery, his fourth surgery of this type:

While this would be a major cause for concern, The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala explained that the surgery was not for a new problem, but rather a cleanup surgery:

With Ray’s injury concerns and their enviable depth at his position, Ray clearly is not part of the Broncos’ long term plans. Declining his fifth-year option proved as much.

Just because the Broncos don’t have a need for Ray, it doesn’t mean he has no talent. For all his imperfections, there is one thing Ray can do very well: rush the passer. In the first two seasons of his career, Ray had 12 sacks in 30 games, only eight of which he started in.

Even in his injury-riddled 2017 season, PFF (h/t Tim Lynch of Mile High Report) gave Ray a 73.4 pass-rush grade, quite good considering his various injuries. Even though Ray struggles with stopping the run, that’s one of the few situations the 49ers don’t need to fix.

The issue comes in compensation. The Broncos don’t have to trade Ray; they could instead hold onto him and rotate him in sparingly. Luckily for the Broncos, the 49ers have two potential paths to acquire Ray. They could offer a mid- to late-round draft pick and hope the Broncos accept.

A more intriguing offer would send a first-round disappointment from the 49ers side as well. Offensive guard Joshua Garnett has not lived up to his first-round billing. Like Ray, he too has struggled with injuries. But the bigger issue for the 49ers is that he doesn’t fit the scheme. Garnett is not built for the zone-blocking scheme head coach Kyle Shanahan runs, but rather the power-run scheme the Broncos use.

Both teams would fill a need of the others.

The idea of trading for an injury-prone edge rusher may not be the most appealing, but there is still the possibility of catching an even bigger fish in the sea.