49ers must learn these crucial lessons from Super Bowl-winning Chiefs
By Peter Panacy
No. 3 Chiefs lesson to 49ers: Stick with your core players (and only your core players)
As soon as the Chiefs committed long term to Patrick Mahomes, especially financially, it was going to be awfully difficult to retain the same group of Super Bowl-winning players who helped beat the Niners in February of 2020.
Easily, the biggest transaction KC made to highlight this was last offseason’s trade of All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.
A blockbuster, yes. But Kansas City was willing to do this because it had a more important offensive weapon, tight end Travis Kelce.
Granted, the Chiefs brought in other wideouts to help alleviate Hill’s departure, namely JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Yet those names don’t equate to Hill whatsoever.
Read More: Travis Kelce long surpassed George Kittle as NFL’s best tight end
That said, Kelce was the guy in Super Bowl LVII with six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, and he’ll continue to be that guy for as long as he’s with the Chiefs.
Everyone else in the skill positions is ancillary and replaceable.
Granted, San Francisco hasn’t committed big money to a quarterback entering 2023, so it can hold onto riches like tight end George Kittle, running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
However, the 49ers can’t be afraid to move on from non-core names when the time comes.