Fooch's Note: Head on over to Revenge of the Birds to see what 49ers they'd grab.
I'd like to thank Andrew over at Revenge of the Birds for passing along what I think is a great idea for a game-week post. We have plenty of discussion about who we like on the 49ers, and who we fear on the opposing team. However, this post allows us to go off into fantasy-land a bit and decide who we might like from an opposing team. In doing this, you can approach it from a variety of angles. You can take a player just because you like that player, no matter what the 49ers current situation is at that position. You can consider who the 49ers might lose in the offseason or positions they need to improve. If you want to take into account the player's contract and look for "realistic" additions, you're free to do that. You can be as realistic or as fantastical (if that's even a word) as you'd like. For this week, here are some of the guys I'd like. Also, at the end I thought I'd throw out some thoughts on the guy I did not choose that many of you might choose...
Larry Fitzgerald, WR: Ok, so this is certainly an obvious choice. But if you're going to take a player off this team, why not take the best? The 49ers have some solid talent at wide receiver, but it's still young and has a lot of room for growth. Imagine a team with Larry Fitzgerald as the #1 receiver, Michael Crabtree #2, and Josh Morgan #3? One reason I like this is the fact that Fitzgerald's contract expires after the 2011 season. Fitzgerald would still be in his prime, but you could conceivably let him walk as your young receivers would hopefully have grown into specific roles. Anyways, I think this is more of a flashy option.
The remaining three are after the jump...
Antrel Rolle, FS: One could say Antrel Rolle has been fire and ice all season long. After struggling a bit as a cornerback, Rolle has transitioned rather nicely over to the free safety position. The 49ers have been looking to Dashon Goldson for ball-hawking skills, but Rolle could be a nice replacement there at free safety. It's still early to completely judge Goldson, but in this instance Rolle could certainly work well.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB: I like some aspects of the 49ers secondary, but to have a young guy like DRC in the lineup would certainly provide some long term stability. Right now, the 49ers don't completely know what their long term plans are. Shawntae Spencer has one of the jobs right now, but he's not getting any younger, and is always an injury risk. Nate Clements was demoted before getting injured and might not even be a 49er next year. And Tarell Brown has shown some improvement, but also been inconsistent at times. DRC has his ups and downs, but has done enough in a season and a half to impress me.
Beanie Wells, RB: This was a tough one for me. At this point Tim Hightower actually has better rushing numbers, but Beanie has much more upside. I was hesitant on this one because of Frank Gore. Sure the 49ers want a complementary back to Gore, but I don't know if Wells would fit that role. He and Hightower have split the workload almost right down the middle (119 carries for Hightower, 121 for Wells), and Gore seems to work better as the primary back (when he's actually getting his numbers in). However, I couldn't pass up a talented running back at this point, so that's #4, giving us 2 defensive players and 2 offensive players.
So why didn't I take Kurt Warner? Obviously the 49ers were interested in him this past offseason and I'm sure plenty of you would like to have him on the 49ers roster. However, I chose to not include him for a couple reasons. First, is the development of Alex Smith. He's no Kurt Warner, but he's certainly shown some solid development this season. Second, and more importantly at this point, is the fact that the 49ers offensive line has been rather abysmal at times. Kurt Warner has never been an especially mobile quarterback, and if he was behind this 49ers offensive line, I can't even begin to imagine the type of damage he'd have incurred on sacks.