NFC

The San Francisco 49ers have traded a sixth round draft pick to their Super Bowl conquerors, the Baltimore Ravens, for wide receiver Anquan Boldin. That's according to a report from NFL.com's Chris Wesseling, citing a tweet from The Baltimore Sun.

The 49ers were clearly thinking of their young quarterback when they made this deal. The trade gives Colin Kaepernick all the tools he needs to succeed in 2013. Boldin may be ageing, but he is the ultimate quarterback-friendly receiver. He will quickly become the dependable target Kaepernick won't be able to live without.

The youthful and athletic passer took teams by surprise when he replaced Alex Smith for the final seven games of the 2012 season. However, pro defenses have now had ample time to scout the fleet-footed quarterback, particularly thanks to the extra attention Kaepernick garnered taking the Niners to the Super Bowl.

The Seattle Seahawks have traded for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin. Trading for Harvin makes the Seahawks major NFC contenders in 2013. NFL.com's Marc Sessler cites FoxSports.com's Jay Glazer, who reports the Seahawks swapped first and seventh round picks in April's draft for Harvin.

That gives Seattle's young offense a truly dynamic wide receiver. That's exactly what quarterback Russell Wilson needed to help him succeed in year two. The Seahawks have given Wilson a legitimate vertical threat to complement his arm strength and big play potential.

That big play potential is something that defines Harvin. He is a dynamic and versatile playmaker who excels at stretching defenses deep. The Seahawks needed to expand their offense to tailor things more to Wilson's skills. Those skills include launching vertical salvos and throwing on the run.

The New York Giants have signed defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, according to USA Today.  This smart deal means Big Blue have added a valuable interior pass-rusher to their defense.

The Giants have lacked a defensive tackle who can pressure the pocket, since Justin Tuck moved to end. They have instead relied on road-graders and run-stuffers on early downs.

For nickel and dime packages, the Giants have moved edge-rushers like Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul inside. Signing Jenkins gives the G-men a credible pass-rush from the inside.

It also completes an overhaul of the defensive tackle position for the four-time Super Bowl winners. Since 2010, they have parted ways with veterans like Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield and Chris Canty.

Head coach Tom Coughlin has also introduced younger players such as Linval Joseph and Marvin Austin. Joseph has been solid and certainly showcases the potential to improve.

 

Greg Olsen’s departure two years ago left the Chicago Bears with a bare cupboard at the tight end position. With a new (and non-TE-phobic) offensive coordinator in town, Chicago also might have an opportunity to replace at least some of Olsen’s much-missed production.

As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears are expected to make a serious push to sign free agent Jared Cook away from the Tennessee Titans. Cook was one of the few players who had been rumored as likely franchise-tag targets who was not, in fact, locked up by his incumbent team.

Although the Titans themselves and other clubs are sure to be in the mix for the Cook, he has so much going for him that Chicago has to make every effort to bring him in. The Bears don’t have much cap space of their own after franchising Henry Melton, but it’s not impossible that Julius Peppers or Jay Cutler could agree to some contract restructuring for the good of the team.

The San Francisco 49ers look poised to do some serious damage in this off-season. They have traded away 2005 Number One Draft pick Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs in a deal that left everyone astounded. The Chiefs gave up the 34th pick in this years draft, plus a conditional pick in next years draft. This is now a 3rd round pick but could rise to another 2nd rounder based on Smith's performance for his new team. This was a fantastic bit of business for the 49ers. They now essentially have another first round pick to utilise and now have a total of 15 picks in the 7 rounds of this years Draft. There's no doubt the Chiefs overpaid for Smith, a QuarterBack who has struggled mightily during his time in the NFL. The last two seasons have been far more positive for Smith and some would deem him unfortunate to lose his starting spot due to a concussion. The Chiefs, sensing there wasn't a Signal Caller worth taking with the first pick this year, moved the 34th pick for Smith instead of drafting a Matt Barkley with it.