Last offseason, the 49ers did a good job of being patient in free agency and waiting for the bargains to come to them. They didn’t panic and they got guys like Carlos Rogers, Jonathan Goodwin, Donte Whitner, and Dashon Goldson for cheap later in the free agency period. They’ve done it again.

They knew it was a deep wide receiver market so instead of panicking and guaranteeing 14 million to Laurent Robinson or Robert Meachem or paying Josh Morgan 6 million per year, they waited for the odd man out (Mario Manningham) to be left without a home and got him for a bargain, 2 years 7.4 million with 2.45 million guaranteed.

Manningham, like Robinson and Meachem, is not a #1 caliber receiver, but the 49ers didn’t pay him like one. He’s a talented 2^nd or 3^rd receiver who caught 57 passes in 2009 and 60 passes in 2010, more than Robinson or Meachem ever caught in a season by the way. He had a down year in 2011 with injuries and the emergence of Victor Cruz opposite Hakeem Nicks, but he’ll still be a help to the 49ers with Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, Randy Moss, and probably a rookie receiver some point in the first 3 rounds.

Grade: A