{"id":695520,"date":"2026-01-22T05:04:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T05:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/695520\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T05:04:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T05:04:38","slug":"the-49ers-are-set-up-for-an-all-in-2026-can-they-get-justin-jefferson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/695520\/","title":{"rendered":"The 49ers are set up for an all-in 2026 \u2014 can they get Justin Jefferson?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the Section 415 podcast wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They have the money and the momentum. They have the brand name, the coaching, the healthy and healing stars, the quarterback \u2014 and they\u2019re due, 31 years after last grasping the Lombardi Trophy and nine full seasons since Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch took charge of this franchise.<\/p>\n

Yes, if the 49ers embrace this offseason moment, everything is set up for them to go big in 2026. Big improvements, big spending, big steps forward, and potentially enormous results.<\/p>\n

What would be the best way for the 49ers to show the world how big this all could and will get? How about doing everything possible this offseason to land potentially very available Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby?<\/p>\n

And not stopping there. Actually, accelerating from there. After cleaning out a big chunk of their depth chart and payroll last March, the 49ers don\u2019t have to hesitate or guard their bank account this offseason. After falling a few star players short against the Seahawks in two lopsided games in the last few weeks, the 49ers have the target right in front of them for 2026.<\/p>\n

They can go and go. Which they owe to the players who pulled them through the season \u2014 and surprised even Shanahan and Lynch by winning 12 regular-season games and knocking off the Eagles in Philadelphia in the wild-card round.<\/p>\n

The 49ers owe it to themselves after they endured all the slashing and budgeting last March and jumped ahead of schedule by making that playoff run.<\/p>\n

So they can try to validate all of this by flying to the top of the potential trade market and making the Vikings an offer they might not be able to refuse for multiple-time All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson to top off a true Super Bowl-level roster.<\/p>\n

Yes, Justin Jefferson. It\u2019s not out of the question. And right now, the 49ers have the gravity to try to bend everything their way in this situation.<\/p>\n

(This idea was first suggested to me by ESPN\u2019s Nick Wagoner on my podcast, and I was intrigued the moment I heard it. Jefferson and Christian McCaffrey probably are the two ideal playmaking fits for a Shanahan offense, and that\u2019s enough to wonder how many first-round picks the 49ers should offer for Jefferson. I\u2019d say at least two.)<\/p>\n

Crosby seems to be on his way out in Las Vegas and he\u2019s long been one of the 49ers\u2019 favorite players. But if the 49ers can only get one of the two superstars, I\u2019d circle Jefferson, because the 49ers\u2019 need for a game-breaking receiver is greater than for another elite edge, and because Jefferson is easily one of the best 10 players in the league and, at 26, should remain there for many years to come. <\/p>\n

Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk were both very good for the 49ers for a few years, but Jefferson would be the most dangerous WR Shanahan has had since he was running Atlanta\u2019s offense in 2016 and Julio Jones helped that team get to the Super Bowl. And of course, the 49ers\u2019 list of signed, proven receivers for next season is essentially: null and void.<\/p>\n

Today<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

5 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday, Jan. 13<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

By the way, Shanahan and Lynch were interested in drafting Jefferson out of LSU in 2020, but he went three picks before the 49ers ended up drafting Aiyuk 25th. And ESPN reported a year ago that the 49ers called the Vikings about trading for Jefferson early in 2024 (when the Aiyuk turmoil was just starting) and were rebuffed. <\/p>\n

No, the 49ers\u2019 interest level would not be hard to piece together.<\/p>\n

This is what Shanahan said about Jefferson before playing the Vikings in 2024 (when Jefferson crushed the 49ers with a 97-yard TD reception): \u201cThere\u2019s not an angle he can\u2019t really run at \u2014 at full speed and drop his weight. He\u2019s also fearless in how he plays. His hands are as good as anyone. From what I\u2019ve heard from people who have been with him, they say he\u2019s one of the smartest players that people have been with. He\u2019s the full package.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AJefferson has 42 touchdown receptions in six seasons with the Vikings. | Source: Bruce Kluckhohn\/Associated Press<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also fitting that earlier in Jefferson\u2019s career, Shanahan once compared him to Emmanuel Sanders, the WR the 49ers acquired in the middle of 2019 as the last necessary piece for their first Super Bowl appearance in this era. If Jimmy Garoppolo had been able to hit Sanders running open late in that game, the 49ers might have held a parade in February 2020.<\/p>\n

And Jefferson is much, much better now than Sanders was back then. He\u2019s also signed through the 2028 season at fairly reasonable prices (for a top-10 player), though, as in most star trades, the 49ers most likely would need to be ready for almost immediate extension talks. <\/p>\n

Why not? He\u2019s worth it. And after Aiyuk blew up his guaranteed money for next season, the 49ers have plenty of cash to spend.<\/p>\n

As it stands, the 49ers project to be about $40 million under the 2026 cap line, thanks in large part to the money Aiyuk forfeited. And the 49ers can create more space by adjusting\/extending the deals for Nick Bosa (currently set for a $42 million hit next season) and Trent Williams ($38.9 million).<\/p>\n

So this is the time for a big move. Lynch and Shanahan didn\u2019t exactly say it that way on Wednesday, but they sort of suggested it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we will have a little more flexibility this year and we\u2019re excited about that,\u201d Lynch said.<\/p>\n

So why would the Vikings trade Jefferson \u2014 and take a gigantic dead-cap hit? Their timeline is all screwed up by J.J. McCarthy\u2019s slow development at quarterback, which means getting back into contention seems, at best, a few years away. How long does Jefferson want to wait around for decent QB play?<\/p>\n

Jefferson hasn\u2019t hinted about wanting to move on, but the idea is bubbling around the league. And the Vikings might need to start hoarding first-round picks to be able to move to the top of a future draft and land their next QB. The best way: Get a few of them for Jefferson and restart the clock.<\/p>\n

And if the bidding starts, the 49ers should be ready to toss in their best chips. <\/p>\n

I mean, I presume the 49ers would\u2019ve scored more than 0 combined TDs in those Seattle losses if Jefferson was their WR1 and getting 10 targets a game from Brock Purdy. (49ers wide receivers totaled one catch for one yard \u2014 by Demarcus Robinson \u2014 at Lumen Field last Saturday.)<\/p>\n

Then add a healthy Bosa, Fred Warner, and George Kittle next season \u2026 I think any upcoming games against the Seahawks or anybody else would feel a lot different. And the 49ers need it to be different.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ll say it: If both Crosby and Jefferson are traded this offseason and the 49ers don\u2019t land either, it\u2019ll be a failed offseason, given the 49ers\u2019 resources and incentive to win immediately.<\/p>\n

Why else did Shanahan and Lynch go along with last offseason\u2019s dispatching of Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, Javon Hargrave, Samuel, and many, many others? On Wednesday, Lynch called it \u201ca reckoning,\u201d and both men noted that the 49ers had been going so hard financially for so long that they needed a reset.<\/p>\n

Well, that happened in March. And, despite the landslide of injuries to Bosa, Warner, and others, and the abandonment by Aiyuk, that locker room held together. The leaders led. And the 49ers got to 12-5 and then beat the Eagles in a memorable wild-card game in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

The 49ers also aren\u2019t getting any younger \u2014 how many prime seasons are left for McCaffrey, Williams, and Kittle (who won\u2019t be back until next midseason after his Achilles injury)? Who will be the offensive star alongside Purdy whenever McCaffrey can\u2019t carry it 300 times?<\/p>\n

And the Shanahan\/Lynch era isn\u2019t getting any younger, either. The two men are going into their 10th seasons together running this team; while they certainly seem ready and able to go another 10, there is always some amount of accumulating fatigue for any leadership group.<\/p>\n

While I don\u2019t sense any irrational pressure from Jed York for Shanahan and Lynch to deliver a Super Bowl win very soon (it\u2019s hard!), sometimes the pent-up emotions show up all at once, as Sean McDermott and John Harbaugh recently found out.<\/p>\n

But I don\u2019t need to tell Lynch, York, and Shanahan any of that. They don\u2019t need extra pressure to get a Super Bowl. They\u2019ve been putting it on themselves for this entire era. <\/p>\n

They\u2019ve aggressively traded for Sanders, Williams, and McCaffrey when they were in this mood in previous years. Then they sat it out last March. I don\u2019t think the 49ers are sitting out anything in this cycle, now that they\u2019re only one or two steps away from the big prize. <\/p>\n

Justin Jefferson or Maxx Crosby to get the 49ers over the finish line. Maybe Jefferson and Crosby. Once you\u2019re this close, finally completing the chase is the only thing that matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":695521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2026],"tags":[2644,7,2812,252,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-695520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-brock-purdy","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-kyle-shanahan","11":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","12":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115937011410756896","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=695520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/695521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}