All of a sudden, without any warning, Percy Harvin has turned into the hottest commodity in the NFL trade scene, as word of his displeasure with the Minnesota Vikings and vice versa are leading a lot of teams, especially the San Francisco 49ers, to look into the option of signing the talented receiver.
Some suggest that Harvin is planning to holdout on the 2013 training camp if he isn’t moved somewhere else. The New England Patriots, who were very high on Harvin when he came out of the draft, never shy away from problematic players, but there’s a very good chance the 49ers make a move for Harvin, hoping he can upgrade their passing game.
Behind Michael Crabtree, there isn’t much to discuss. There’s Vernon Davis at tight end, and that’s it. Randy Moss won’t be back, and he wasn’t that big of a contributor anyway. The 49ers need another weapon, and in Harvin they have one of the fastest and more dangerous receivers in the NFL (when he’s focused and healthy), besides Crabtree, to help Colin Kaepernick succeed as a throwing quarterback, while obviously still relying on their ground game.
The San Francisco 49ers didn’t lose the Super Bowl because of a bad game plan or lack of quality, mostly. It was about execution in the first half, and not coming up with the right plays on the final drive. Giving Kaepernick another reliable play maker like Harvin, who can be used in a number of ways and spots on the field, might make their offense the closest to perfect we have in the NFL right now.
The 49ers have quite a few draft picks to use as trading chips (12 at the moment), not to mention what they might get for Alex Smith once they trade the highest rated quarterback who’s available for transfer and has quite a few teams interested in him.
Harvin, 24, has been with the Minnesota Vikings since 2009, catching 280 passes for 3302 yards an 20 touchdowns, averaging 11.8 yards per receptions through his four seasons with the team. He made the Pro Bowl in 2009 and was named the offensive rookie of the year that season.