The Chiefs did more than exchange disappointing former first-round wide receivers when they dealt Jon Baldwin to the 49ers for A.J. Jenkins.
They also reunited Jenkins with quarterback Alex Smith, who was acquired in another trade with the 49ers early in the offseason. As a result, Smith’s got more insight into Jenkins’ game than most members of the Chiefs organization and he said Tuesday that he thinks the fresh start in Kansas City will be a good thing for the wideout after not getting much of a chance in San Francisco.
“That’s a veteran team with a lot of pieces in place,” Smith said, via the team’s website. “So it wasn’t his job from the jump. He came in and had to battle for it. I could say, I think it was a deeper roster there. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out. He’s got a ton of talent, a lot of speed, so I think the change is doing some good.”
That’s a more positive review of Jenkins’ game than we heard from tight end Vernon Davis, although you’d expect that kind of dichotomy given Smith has more to gain from Jenkins finding a way to succeed at the NFL level. He’ll get a chance to do that in K.C., but there might not be many more if a change of scenery doesn’t do the trick.