The deal almost everyone in the football world saw coming is 13 days from coming to fruition but what might be shocking is what the 49ers got in return.
The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to trade maligned quarterback Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs for a second round pick this season and a conditional third round pick in 2014.
Smith went 20-6-1 in his starts over the last two seasons for the defending NFC champions but lost his job on Nov. 11 when he suffered a concussion and backup Colin Kaepernick stepped in and solidified his place as the quarterback of the future.
Smith's win-loss total is impressive but let's not overstate the type of quarterback he is.
The former No. 1 overall pick is a solid NFL quarterback but he is not in the NFL's Top 10. He may just break the top half of QBs in the league.
He is not a quarterback who is going to stretch the field. Smith completed only eight of his 17 passes over 20 yards with three touchdowns this season. Seventeen passes over 20 yards shows the limitations in his game.
The fact Jim Harbaugh was willing to shove Smith to the wayside for a younger and unproven quarterback shows where the ceiling was for this guy.
All of this said, the 49ers somehow got the second pick in the second round, which is nearly as good as a first rounder, and potentially another pick next season.
That is a steal and they have turned picks into gold. Keep in mind: Kaepernick was the fourth pick of the second round in 2011.
Quarterbacks are a commodity and if you have excess, you can take advantage and the 49ers did just that. The depth of quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL Draft is thin. There are no big free agent quarterbacks on the market.
Everything fell into place for San Francisco.
This now gives the 49ers 12 picks in this year's draft and that number could go up to 15 with compensatory picks still to be decided. The team can now in turn use the picks to get whatever they need.
Does this team really have room for 15 new players? This is a team looking to fill a few holes to make another run at the Super Bowl.
Steal? No doubt about it.
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