Difference Maker

Could Sanders be piece that pushes 49ers over the top?

Two years ago, just before the NFL’s October trade deadline, the rebuilding 49ers pulled the trigger on a major move to bring in the kind of foundational player that could put them on the right path towards their dreamy goals of championship glory.

Two years later, with the trade deadline again looming, in their sudden new role as frontrunners, the 49ers struck again to bring in the kind of missing piece that can get them there.

Emmanuel Sanders is that kind of player. And he immediately had that kind of effect on the 49ers after the team traded 2020 thirdand fourth-round draft picks to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 22 to acquire the accomplished veteran who has played in two Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl championship ring.

“He’s a playmaker,” 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said. “If you give him a chance on the ball, he’ll make you look good. Whenever you can bring in a guy of Emmanuel’s talent, it just makes everyone more competitive, and that leads to better football. It’s exciting.”

The 49ers felt that excitement in the locker room the day Sanders arrived. They felt it during his first week of practice with the team. And they certainly felt it the first time Sanders joined them on the field in battle.

So, just like when they traded a secondround draft pick to New England to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo — now the team’s franchisequarterback-in-the-making — before the league’s trading deadline in 2017, the 49ers have added a difference-maker to their offensive equation.

What kind of message does that send to the football world?

“I think it says that we’re competing this year to get in the playoffs,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I think that’s pretty obvious with where our record is at right now. This is a decision you’ve got to make with where we’re at right now.”