SANTA CLARA — Jaquiski Tartt has a very vivid memory of covering wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders in Denver during joint practices with the Broncos during training camp.
The 49ers safety was one-on-one with the two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver and ended up making a nice play on the ball, causing the pass to fall incomplete. But that doesn’t mean Tartt doesn’t believe in the wideout's talent. He knows exactly how much Sanders, who the 49ers acquired via trade Tuesday, will bring to the table.
“Guys like him with that speed, he’s very dynamic,” Tartt told NBC Sports Bay Area. "He has all the tools, route running, possession catch, just a great receiver. His quickness off the ball, he’s very quick. You have to bring your A-game all the time.”
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Cornerback Richard Sherman has a lot of experience covering the best wide receivers in the league and remarked that Sanders ranks up there with the best.
“He’s really tough to deal with,” Sherman told NBC Sports Bay Area. “He has a special skill set that makes him really tough to deal with consistently. And he can do it in a number of different ways in terms of changing his speed, changing his shoulder shrugs.
“He has a great set of hands, he rarely ever drops anything and he’s competitive as all get out.”
[RELATED: Jimmy G, Sanders working on getting timing down]
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Thanks to his previous battles with Sanders, Sherman knows the newest member of the 49ers has all of the cliché qualities that a top wideout needs to be successful. In Sanders' case, they all are true.
“He’s a really good player,” Sherman said. “At the end of the day, he’s poised, confident, experienced, dynamic and explosive. He does the things that Kyle [Shanahan] values in a receiver very well. He also has that championship pedigree.”
How important is it for someone to have played in those big games?
“I think it makes a big difference in terms of the guys who haven’t been there,” Sherman said. “Because they respect it. You respect a guy who has done things that you dream of doing.”
Sanders will be putting in extra hours with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers offense this week in order to be ready for his debut on Sunday against the Panthers at Levi's Stadium.