The San Francisco 49ers only made one move on Tuesday ahead of the NFL trade deadline, and it was to acquire veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen. It was a solid move and one that made a lot of sense, given all of the injuries at receiver.
But general manager John Lynch may come to regret not making a harder push for Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack.
Now, it should be noted the Chargers did not seem especially motivated to trade Mack. That’s an odd decision for a team that is 0-8 in one of the more surprisingly terrible starts to a season in recent memory. Yet, they did trade one player (although that deal has now apparently fallen through), so it’s not like they refused to make any moves.
Maybe the Chargers just didn’t like whatever teams were offering for Mack. Perhaps by dangling a third-round pick, the Niners would have been able to land Mack.
That’s the same pick the Niners sent to the Washington Commanders back in 2023 to land Chase Young. That move didn’t necessarily work out all that well, but Mack is a different player than Young. The former is a veteran who has been around long enough that he could be plugged into a defense and add value right away as a pass-rusher in a way that Young may not have been equipped to.
49ers could have used some edge-rusher depth
Mack has just three sacks in eight games this season, which is not a ton, and he is obviously not the premier edge rusher he was earlier in his career. But he still would have given San Francisco the depth it needs at the edge rusher position.
Nick Bosa came back in Week 9, but he’s had so many injury issues the last few seasons that any sort of plan counting on his health is a risky one at best. Maybe they will get lucky but they’d feel a lot better with Mack in the fold.
Perhaps the DeForest Buckner reunion will be enough, though. He’s not an edge rusher, but he’s a good pass-rusher from the defensive interior and will help take pressure off everyone else on the D-line, so there’s a chance the Niners really didn’t need anyone else.
Still, the Niners are 7-1, and this is clearly a go-all-in kind of season. Buckner himself said it is Super Bowl or bust, and while the Niners made some key additions with Buckner and Allen, there will be a lingering feeling that they didn’t quite do enough unless they are able to win it all.
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