The San Francisco 49ers needed a wide receiver in the worst way after Brandon Aiyuk suffered a major injury, Jauan Jennings requested a trade, and Demarcus Robinson was handed a suspension. Fans clearly wanted John Lynch to go big in getting some extra help, but his big solution to this problem will leave many wanting more.
The Kansas City Chiefs made one of their more disappointing young players in former top pick Skyy Moore available via trade after being frozen out of the regular wide receiver rotation, and the 49ers acted very quickly to snatch up someone who may have gone elsewhere without some fast front office reflexes.
The 49ers are acquiring Moore from the Chiefs in a deal that will see them swap sixth and seventh-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft. Kansas City was clearly done trying to work with Moore, and the burden of turning him into a professional player now falls on Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers.
49ers trade for struggling Chiefs WR Skyy Moore
Moore was picked in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft after a very productive college career at Western Michigan, and the idea of pairing his tremendous playmaking skills with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes seemed like manna from heaven.
Instead, Moore’s inability to separate and get comfortable in Reid’s scheme has been an Achilles heel. Moore has caught just 43 passes for 494 yards in the regular season, finding the end zone just once. Moore didn’t catch a single pass last season.
While Moore should theoretically have a leg up on some of the younger players on this 49ers roster, including draft picks like Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins, his disappointing time in Kansas City (Super Bowl win vs. the Eagles notwithstanding), shows that he remains more of an unfinished ball of clay than anything else.
This might be the last stop on the block for Moore as an NFL player. If he bounces between Reid and Shanahan-led offenses on his rookie deal and is unable to crack the lineup in multiple poor wide receiver rooms, it will be hard to imagine where he fits in as a professional.
