Julius Peppers in Red and Gold?

Ever since the 49ers traded their 2nd and 4th round draft picks in the 2009 draft to Carolina for a first round pick in the 2010 draft there have been rumors that Julius Peppers is San Francisco bound. I would like to be among the first to voice my strong opinion on what an excellent move this would be.

I don’t think that Carolina would let go of their franchise defensive end/OLB to just get back their first round pick next year. As much as I would love to see that, that would be a terrible exchange for Carolina, and let’s face it, I don’t think Scot McCloughan has the balls, or the aptitude, to make that offer, if he did, he would have just offered the 2nd and 4th round picks for Peppers and save himself and the Carolina front office some headaches. Carolina is looking for 2 first round picks, at least according to just about everything I have read on the matter since the end of the previous season. I don’t think Peppers is worth quite that much, he is a proven playmaker, and could be the difference on defense that we need. However that is quite a steep price to pay, even for someone as talented as Peppers, and I just don’t think he is that big of a difference maker. Parys Haralson looked very good at times last year, specifically times when the defense got off the field and got the rest they needed in the game, and Manny Lawson is in his second season coming off ACL surgery, I expect more out of him this year. I am also intrigued by our final pick of the draft this year, Ricky Jean-Francois. He was projected as a potential third round pick with gobs of talent, however some off-field issues kept him from going early on the second day of the draft. If he can get his head screwed on straight, as I wrote in my analysis of the draft, I think he has the potential to make a difference. Due to these factors, both of our first round picks next year are not worth giving up to get Peppers.

I do think there is a deal to be made though. The deal would have to include one of the first round picks, probably whichever is lower next year, and a player to go along with the pick. My proposal, if I were the GM of the 49ers, would be to send Manny Lawson and the lower pick to Carolina for Peppers, assuming he is ready to sign a long term deal to play in San Francisco. We would exchange one hybrid DE/OLB with tons of potential for another proven hybrid DE/OLB that can get the pressure on the QB that we have lacked so badly in the Erikson/Nolan era. Even if Peppers isn’t himself bringing the pressure, he attracts tons of attention from the offense which would allow Haralson a much clearer path to the QB, something I believe he would take advantage of. It would also allow Justin Smith to not be double or triple teamed every snap and potentially give the 49ers a fairly potent pass rush, something that has prevented us from realizing the aspirations we have had the previous two years. A pass rush takes pressure off of our DB’s because the opposing QB doesn’t have all day to decide what to do with the ball, he is forced to get rid of it quickly, much like our QB’s have had to do in the previous several seasons. We do have elite DB’s, we do have elite ILB’s, now it’s time to get an elite player who can get some pressure on the QB and take our defense from middle of the pack to the top 3rd in the NFL which also allows us to play the type of football that Coach Singletary wants to play, that is to win games 10-7 or 14-10. Let’s hope our front office pulls its head out of it collective rear end and make this deal that so badly needs to be made.