John Lynch Details What He Likes About Skyy Moore, How Chiefs Trade Came To Be

John Lynch details what he likes about Skyy Moore, how Chiefs trade came to be originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

After a string of misfortunes swept through the 49ers’ wide receivers room, the team decided they needed Moore… Skyy Moore, that is.

The 49ers traded for the 24-year-old wideout on Wednesday.

49ers general manager John Lynch spoke with KNBR’s Murph and Markus on Thursday and believes Moore can benefit from the change of scenery.

“I think the bottom line is, Skyy’s a talented guy who probably, a change in environment was needed,” Lynch said. “And we get a chance to do it this early. What I like about it is it gives us an opportunity to evaluate him here before the season. Very talented young man who was a second-round pick in the 2022 draft.

“Probably has fallen short of the expectations they had for him, but he brings a lot of value in terms of, he’s a dual-returner, meaning he can do punt and kickoff return. With Jacob Cowing out, that became valuable and important to us. We really believe there’s a lot of talent and sometimes, talent, in spot, expectations of being a second-round pick and not living up to it, the scrutiny, sometimes a change of scenery is a needed thing.”

The trade talks heated up after the 49ers reached out to the Chiefs, inquiring if they’d be willing to part with any of their players.

“I always like giving recognition and a shoutout to the guys in our pro department,” Lynch said. “That’s what they do. That’s their job to know the entire league and to look at other teams, to have discussions with their counterparts at other teams and say, ‘Hey, who might be available? Are you guys thinking of doing anything?’ And those type of things and then it leads to a conversation. Brett Veach and I have a great relationship and I probably talked [to him] for the first time a couple days ago, start talking about this and came to fruition yesterday.”

In addition to Cowing (hamstring), the 49ers wideout room is also without Brandon Aiyuk (ACL), Jauan Jennings (calf), Jordan Watkins (high-ankle sprain), Russell Gage (MCL) and DeMarcus Robinson (suspension), which makes it even better that Moore could be ready for action as soon as Saturday.

“Provided that physical goes well,” Lynch said regarding Moore’s availability for San Francisco’s preseason finale. “He gets out here. I always appreciate the way our coaches go to work with these guys and the kind of crash course. You give them enough stuff that they know and they can go run a package of plays. And then as a returner, ‘Hey, just go catch the ball and do your thing.’ Go right or go middle, that’s pretty easy. Yes, there’s nuance to it, but a lot easier on special teams.

“The good thing with Skyy is that he’s been in camp. He just played last week. Had a fantastic [punt] return for a touchdown against the Seahawks, so it’s not like he’s not in shape. He’s ready and we’ll make sure he’s right. We’ll get him in a good place and we’ll make that decision.”

If all goes well, it sounds like Moore could be donning a 49ers uniform as early as Saturday when the team faces off against the Los Angeles Chargers.

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