New 49ers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders expects to get up to speed in time for Sunday's game

SANTA CLARA - After six games and six wins, the 49ers hardly have any weaknesses.

The main weakness seems to be the passing game, which ranks just 25th out of 32 teams in passing yards. To address this issue, the 49ers on Tuesday traded their third-round pick and fourth-round pick in 2020 to the Broncos for former Pro Bowl wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and Denver's fifth-round pick in 2020.

The 49ers already traded their second-round pick in 2020 during the offseason for defensive end Dee Ford. Meaning they currently have no picks between rounds 1 and 5 of next year's draft.

They've sent a clear message to their players: Forget the future. Win the Super Bowl this season.

“They have full confidence we're ready to win now,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said Wednesday. “It's reassuring and it energizes everybody, not that we really needed to be energized - everybody is feeling pretty good right now.”

Here are five things to know about the trade.

1. Kyle Shanahan has coveted Sanders for almost a decade.

“Huge fan of him coming out of the draft and everything he's done since,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “We have a better team right now.”

The Steelers drafted Sanders in the third round of the 2010 draft. In 2014, Sanders signed with the Broncos, became a full-time starter for the first time in his career and produced three 1,000-yard-plus seasons from 2014 to 2016.

“He has always been very good at separating,” Shanahan said. “He can get downfield, but he also can break you off inside. Not the biggest guy, but he plays big. He's hard to get your hands on. He can push through things and he plays very aggressive. He can go over the middle and not flinch. He catches the ball and gets up the field hard. He's a very good football player.”

Sanders hasn't gained 1,000 yards in a season since 2016. This season, he has gained 367 receiving yards, which makes him the 49ers' second-leading receiver after tight end George Kittle. Opposing defenses could struggle covering both of them.

2. Sanders is 32 and tore his Achilles less than a year ago.

That's why he was available. He's old for a football player, and he recently ruptured his Achilles, an injury which ruins lots of athletes.

But it hasn't ruined Sanders. “I thought he looked healthier in these games this year than he did last year before his Achilles,” Shanahan said. “I know he was real banged up before that Achilles happened. What he's done (this season), really liked how he looked on tape and that's why I was really glad we were able to get him.”

The 49ers recently had success signing a player coming off an Achilles tear: Richard Sherman. He tore his Achilles in 2017. And now he's 31, which means he's “old,” too.

“People value youth too much,” Sherman said. “People get confused and think youth is somehow better - 32 isn't very old. (Sanders) is still incredibly effective. He's really fast. Still has the same hands. If he was 23 and inexperienced, that wouldn't be better than him being 32 with the same skills and more knowledge than he had before. I don't see it as an issue for us.”

The 49ers already have plenty of young wide receivers. Only one (Marquise Goodwin) is older than 24. The 49ers need a wide receiver with experience, preferably playoff experience. Sanders fits the bill.

“There's not a lot of playoff experience in this locker room,” Jusczczyk said, “so that will be of value for us later in the season.”

3. The 49ers have used eight picks to acquire wide receivers since 2017, and have little to show for their investments.

They drafted Trent Taylor in 2017. He's on injured reserve with a foot injury and may not play this season. That's one pick.

In 2018, the 49ers traded two more picks to move up in the draft for Dante Pettis, who has just 83 receiving yards this season. That's three picks. The 49ers also drafted Richie James, who has 108 receiving yards. Four picks.

In 2019, the 49ers drafted Deebo Samuel, who has 168 receiving yards and one fumble. Five picks. And they drafted Jalen Hurd, who could miss the entire season with a back injury. He has no yards. Six picks.

Now, the 49ers have traded two more picks for Sanders, who will be a free agent after this season. There's no guarantee he'll be on the 49ers in 2020.

“It always gives you pause when it comes to draft picks,” Shanahan said. “We're very well aware that he'll be a free agent at the end of this year and we'll see how this year goes and hopefully we'll be able to keep him here. With that being said, we felt good about it because we know the type of player we got and we know how much he can help us.”

4. Sanders will play Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

And to win, the 49ers may need him to play, because they may not run the ball effectively.

The Panthers have an excellent defense which will try to take away the 49ers' strength on offense - running the ball.

“They've got as good of a defense as I've seen on tape this year,” Shanahan said. “Reminds me a lot of ours.”

Since the trade, Sanders has spent his time memorizing the 49ers' offensive playbook. “It's a cram job,” Shanahan said.

Fortunately for the 49ers, Sanders already was familiar with Shanahan's offense, because the Broncos run a similar version of his scheme. Their offensive coordinator, Rich Scangarello, was the 49ers' quarterbacks coach under Shanahan in 2017 and 2018.

“I would say about 90% of (the playbook) is similar,” Sanders told reporters on Wednesday. “There's about 10% where the terminology is different. I have to adjust to that. I'm going to be playing the same position I played in Denver. It's the same system. I'm used to it. I feel like I'll be good and able to play on Sunday.”

5. Sanders and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will need to build chemistry.

This process could take a while, from Garoppolo's perspective.

“It'll be difficult,” he said. “It takes time, me and him getting on the same page, talking the same language, and just being able to trust one another, me trust him as much as he trusts me. It works both ways.”

Trust is key for Garoppolo. He still lacks game experience (16 career starts), and hasn't been able to build trust with any of the 49ers' young wide receivers this season. Sanders has much more experience - 134 games - and has built chemistry with many different quarterbacks, such as Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning.

“People sometimes put a lot of emphasis on chemistry,” Sanders said. “But, if it's an 18-yard comeback route, and I run 18 yards, and (Garoppolo) throws the ball where it's supposed to be, (chemistry) should naturally happen. It shouldn't take too long. Based on this system with Kyle, I feel like if we work at it, we can be successful in this system together.”