The 49ers are 6-1, they just added DeForest Buckner, and they’re sitting in their bye week. On paper, it’s a team ready to chase a championship. But the receiver room tells a different story, and the Nov. 10 trade deadline is the last chance to fix it.

The Falcons Game Was a Warning

San Francisco’s first loss of the year, 29-20 in Atlanta, came with only four active wide receivers. The offense gave the ball away four times, two of them Brock Purdy interceptions. A team with a healthy receiver room doesn’t play that way. That game showed what happens when the Niners lose even a little depth at the position.

The injured WR room

Mike Evans has been everything the 49ers hoped for when they signed him. He has 27 catches for 420 yards and three touchdowns in six games, and Kyle Shanahan has talked openly about how much he trusts him. But he’s been dealing with injured ribs and Achilles tendinitis, which kept him out of the Falcons game. John Lynch said this week that the goal is to calm the Achilles down and that Evans is making progress.

Maybe he comes back strong for Week 9 against the Raiders. But Achilles problems have a way of lingering, and Evans is in his 13th season. Planning a title run around his health is risky.

Deebo Samuel was off to a great start in his return to San Francisco. In four games, he caught 16 of 20 targets for 206 yards and three touchdowns, and he added nine carries for 78 yards. Then he hurt his hamstring against the Seahawks and has been out since. Shanahan says he has a chance to return in Week 9, but “a chance” isn’t a plan.

De’Zhaun Stribling looked like a star in the preseason. The No. 33 pick put up seven catches in a single half against the Titans, and Purdy raved about him. Then he hurt his ankle in Week 1 and missed at least a month on injured reserve. He’s a rookie, and rookies are going to be inconsistent in December and January, especially in the playoffs. Stribling should be part of this team’s future, not the main reason it wins now.

The Problem

The Seahawks are the defending champions, and their defense has owned this team lately. They beat the Niners 13-3 in Week 18 last season and then 41-6 in the divisional round. The Niners did win 32-29 in Seattle in Week 5, but it took two fourth-quarter scoring drives, and it cost Deebo his hamstring.

San Francisco will probably see Seattle again in the playoffs. Against a defense that good, the offense needs receivers who can win one-on-one and run every route. Being deep isn’t enough.

The Answer

Garrett Wilson is the best fit I can think of. He’s 37-for-51 for 444 yards and three touchdowns on a bad Jets team, and he can win from any alignment. Evans is a big-bodied red zone threat, and Deebo is a gadget player who needs the ball in space. Wilson would be the true No. 1 who runs the full route tree, and Purdy would have a target he can trust on third down.

He’d also solve next year’s problem. Evans is 33 and Deebo has missed time again. Wilson is the long-term answer.

The Cost

Wilson isn’t cheap. He’s reportedly making around $30 million a year, and the Jets will want a first-round pick. I’d give them one. My offer is a 2027 first-rounder plus a mid-round pick, something like a third. I wouldn’t include Stribling or any young starters. The Niners’ draft picks matter less than the title window they have right now.

Bottom Line

This roster has elite players at several spots, a quarterback who’s playing well and a coaching staff that knows how to win. The one thing that can derail it is the receiver room. If Evans’s Achilles flares up in January or Deebo’s hamstring doesn’t hold, the Niners will be trying to beat Seattle with a rookie and a thin group behind him.

The deadline is Nov. 10. If the front office passes on a move like this, it’ll be a mistake.