Over the weekend, former NFL executive Mike Lombardi said on the Rich Eisen podcast that Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Phillip Dorsett is available for a trade.
The Colts spent a first round pick on Dorsett in 2015, and he has been underwhelming thus far. As a rookie, he had 18 receptions for 225 yards and a touchdown in 11 games. In 2016, he had 33 receptions for 528 yards and two touchdowns. It was improvement, but for a first round pick, it has been disappointing. It is not surprising they would look to get anything rather than just cut him.
The timing of the trade block news was kind of perfect. Four days earlier, NFL.com posted a look at seven trades that would help all parties. The timing of that was based on the surprising Sammy Watkins and Jordan Matthews trades the prior week. Trades are a rarity in the NFL, so back-to-back big name trades was plenty of reason to discuss other possible deals.
Fittingly enough, they suggested the Colts deal Dorsett to the 49ers. Here’s what they said about such a deal:
In Atlanta, Kyle Shanahan flipped the switch on offense by surrounding All-Pro wideout Julio Jones with imported talent in the form of Mohamed Sanu and deep threat Taylor Gabriel. Landing Dorsett would give the new 49ers coach a viable downfield option to pair with Pierre Garçon. Dorsett has struggled to break out, but Shanahan thrives at putting young players in position to succeed. The move would leave the Colts a little light at receiver, but new general manager Chris Ballard could net a nice pick in return while moving on with Kamar Aiken alongside T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief.
Dorsett is not a big guy, but that 4.33 40 time is probably tempting for a few teams. Some negatives on his scouting report included raw route-running, and some poor technique in catching the ball. I don’t see him netting the Colts “a nice pick,” because when you’re dealing an under-performing first round draft pick entering his third season, you don’t really have much in the way of leverage.
The 49ers can always use more talent, but I’m not sure he would break through the 49ers current crop of wide receivers. They are not going to blow people away, but given what Dorsett has done in his career, they could prove better than him. Marquise Goodwin is the No. 2 right now, and he along with Aldrick Robinson have the jets to make plays after the catch.
If the 49ers did make a move for someone like Dorsett, it would seem to say something pretty significant about what Kyle Shanahan thinks he can do with him. From a surface level view, I just don’t see this kind of deal happening at wide receiver.