by Erik Klackner

03.13.06—I know what you’re thinking. What could possibly lead a grown man to make the title for an article about football with a lyric from a Shania Twain song? I wish I knew the answer. But just take comfort that I didn’t call it Man, I Feel Like A Woman.

The point of the title is simple: the state of panic that many 49er fans seem to be trapped in right now is overblown. It’s been running rampant for the last 2 days. “Oh, God, look at what everyone else is doing! We’re doomed!” Well my friends, relax and grab a smoke, because it ain’t that bad.

The St. Louis Rams have made several splashes in the free agent puddle, picking up LB Will Witherspoon from Carolina, DT La’Roi Glover from Dallas, and S Corey Chavous from Minnesota. Great. Witherspoon has all the appearances of a gamebreaker, but Chavous and Glover are both players that are on the downsides of their careers, and both were extremely overpaid. Meanwhile, Arizona made the biggest noise of all, landing Edgerrin James. Good for them. They had capable running backs last season (including a 2nd round pick in JJ Arrington) that accomplished nothing behind an inept offensive line. James will help, but the Cardinals had oodles of talent last season, and look where that got them.

I can understand the frustration many fans feel when they see big-name (though not necessarily big-play) players getting snatched up by other teams, particularly within the division. The 49ers were supposed to be one of the teams with loads of cap space, so why aren’t they grabbing players left and right?

I certainly don’t know the answer for sure, but the approach they’ve taken is pretty much exactly what I would do.

Slow down.

The Niners came into this offseason with some easily identifiable needs: LB (depending on the status of the free agents they themselves had), WR, S being chief among them. Obviously plenty of questions remain, but progress has been made. Derek Smith was re-signed to a very reasonable contract. Chris Hetherington was re-signed for essentially nothing. Joe Nedney, the team’s co-MVP was re-signed.

The major hangup for many seems to be the ”lateral” move of trading Brandon Lloyd and signing Antonio Bryant. And the many are right: it is in some ways a lateral move, even if you consider Bryant to be a superior player to Lloyd. The 49ers needed more talent at WR, and giving up your best WR seems like an unusual way to do that. But consider the deal as a whole. Antonio Bryant + a 3rd round draft choice in this year’s draft, plus an additional pick next season versus Brandon Lloyd? I’d like to think most people would prefer the former. The key to the whole scenario is the 3rd round pick.

My astute colleague JimmyPage points out:

The Niners currently hold the 6th, 37th, 68th and something like the 84th-86th picks on the first day. We may hold that extra 3rd to acquire an extra player. However, it could easily be used for ammo to move back up into the late first round for a player we covet.

According to the pick value chart:

37th + 68th = 22nd pick
37th + 84th = 26th pick

That’s going purely off the chart. And that could help us get Antonio Cromartie, Manny Lawson, or perhaps a receiver if we still have the need for it.

The 2006 Draft is by leaps and bounds the deepest draft I have ever seen. The extra Day 1 pick leaves the 49ers in a position to add another starting-caliber player, whether it be via trade-up or staying in place. Furthermore, based on the pick value chart, the “perhaps a receiver if we still have a need for it” can be filled by a Santonio Holmes or Chad Jackson if things shake out right.

I don’t want to give the impression that I think the 49ers’ Front Office is infallible. I certainly share some of the frustrations that many feel. The LB position is troubling to me, and it needs to be addressed in free agency, because “wasting” the 6th pick on AJ Hawk would be a sad resolution to a fixable problem. Brandon Moore must be re-signed. Ideally, either Julian Peterson or Andre Carter will be brought back (and as it happens, their price tag drops with each passing day). There are still quality free agents available at the position, and I would imagine that’s next on the list for Mike Nolan and Co.

But I do feel like this team is headed in a direction. I’m not 100% convinced it’s exactly the right direction, but it’s a direction, and that’s more than the 49ers have had in the past 5+ years. The team is extremely young, with plenty of room to grow, and a coach who by all appearances seems committed to seeing it through. So the work rolls on. From This Moment. You’re Still The One. I’m Gonna Getcha Good.

(weeps softly)