The San Francisco 49ers received a gut punch when news broke the Los Angeles Rams had landed Myles Garrett in a trade. Some are trying to spin in positively for the Niners, but it’s really impossible to do so.
One man who will defend the Niners until the day he dies is David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard. He had the following take about the Garrett trade in comparison to San Francisco adding Mike Evans:
“Mike Evans will likely have a bigger positive impact on the 49ers than Myles Garrett has on the Rams. It’s simple logic. LA already had a top-8 pass rush win rate last year and wasn’t deficient at DE. Jared Verse is an upper-tier player. Meanwhile, SF was very deficient at WR — particularly the X, a spot that’ll trigger compounding returns in Shanahan’s offense. The Rams’ pass rush should be better. The 49ers’ WR corps can be transformed. All additions happen in the context of a team sport.”
That is… wishful thinking, to put it charitably.
Lombardi makes an interesting point, but he may be failing to account for just how good a player Garrett is. He’s arguably the best pass-rusher in the NFL. If he can take Los Angeles’ pass rush from good to great, then he will have made a massive impact.
Will Evans be able to make San Francisco’s passing attack the best in the NFL? It seems quite possible he could improve it, but it’s fanciful to think the Niners will be unstoppable through the air.
Lombardi has always been willing to bend over backwards to defend the Niners, so this really doesn’t come as any real surprise.
He’s not the only one who has tried to stay positive, though.
Tight end George Kittle has also tried to remain positive despite the news. When asked about the Rams adding Garrett he had the following to say:
“Myles is a fantastic player. He's a defensive MVP for a reason, broke the sack record for a reason. He's an amazing football player. It just kind of changes up how you have to play against the Rams… But hey, we've got incredible players, too, and I love a great challenge. It's going to be really fun."
Not many 49ers fans would describe going up against Garrett as “fun,” but Kittle is as fun-loving as they come. It’s more understandable for Kittle to put a positive spin on it because he’s the one who actually has to go out and compete, so he can’t just hang his head and wave the white flag.
Trent Williams probably had a bit more of an honest reaction when he said, “It sucks,” about the news. But everyone will react to it differently.
One hopes Kittle’s optimism pays off and creates a good mindset when the Niners face the Rams, but it just seems hard to find any silver linings to this awful development.
Add us as a preferred source on Google