There’s been plenty of talk about the San Francisco 49ers moving down but not a lot about them moving up in the 2019 NFL Draft. The Niners have done the unexpected in the draft recently, so here could be some potential Round 1 trade-up prospects they could be interested in.
Here’s an intriguing thought for you all: What if the San Francisco 49ers traded up into the back of the first round in the 2019 NFL Draft?
On the surface it seems a ridiculous notion. The Niners currently possess only selections (probably to be six with a sixth-round compensatory selection, but the pick hasn’t been allocated as of writing), and the team could use some more draft picks instead of less.
But a further look shows it could also make sense. The 49ers have a healthy cap situation that has been made even healthier by some recent cuts (the release of offensive tackle Garry Gilliam has saved $5 million alone).
San Francisco could either trade back from pick No. 2 overall, or use future selections to further facilitate a trade if there is a prospect it really likes. The truth is there are a lot of prospects in the second half of the first round that probably won’t make it to the 49ers’ second-round selection at No. 36 overall.
But who are these prospects?
Here are five who could see the Niners do what they did a couple of years ago, and trade back into the first round despite an early selection.