5 workable trades 49ers could make during 2020 offseason
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers Trade Down in the NFL Draft with the Steelers
This was a trade scenario Niner Noise already suggested earlier, breaking down some possibilities for John Lynch moving out of the No. 31 overall pick.
Trading down makes sense for San Francisco. After all, the team isn’t currently slated to pick again until Round 5, meaning some extra day-two draft capital could come in handy.
The only trick is finding a worthy suitor.
The Pittsburgh Steelers currently don’t have a first-round draft pick. They sent that off to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick early in 2019. Pittsburgh also has only a second-, two fourths, a sixth- and a seventh-round pick. But they’ll likely land a compensatory third-round pick after losing running back Le’Veon Bell in free agency last year.
But where things get interesting is with the Steelers’ quarterback situation. Ben Roethlisberger looks to be on pace to start again. Yet the soon-to-be 38 year old is nearing the end of his career, and it’s highly doubtful Pittsburgh is pinning its future quarterbacking hopes on Mason Rudolph or Devlin Hodges. Neither proved anything of the sort last season in Roethlisberger’s stead.
Whether or not the 49ers could cash in on the Steelers’ draft crop, both in 2020 and 2021, will be contingent on how the offseason carousel at quarterback pans out, then followed by what teams do in Round 1 of the 2020 draft itself.
Assuming the Steelers desperately want a quarterback late in Round 1, who otherwise might not come close to falling to No. 49 overall, San Francisco should take advantage.