49ers NFL Draft news: Pick Nos. 13 and 31 available for trade

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly open to moving their top two picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. But will they?

It shouldn’t be overly surprising. But apparently the San Francisco 49ers are willing to consider offers for either/both of their top two picks in the 2020 NFL Draft.

On Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Niners are potentially looking to trade out of their two first-round draft picks, citing league sources.

As things go right now, San Francisco owns its own selection in Round 1, No. 31 overall, as well as the 13th overall pick after moving defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts last month.

This shouldn’t come as too big a shock. As Schefter pointed out, the 49ers aren’t slated to pick again after the first round until two picks in Round 5. While the Niners don’t have a ton of pressing roster needs, the ones they do have are notable.

Wide receiver, cornerback and the offensive line are three positions likely needing to be addressed the most, while potentially finding a replacement for Buckner could be high on general manager John Lynch’s to-do list.

The 2020 NFL Draft is tremendously deep at wide receiver, while there are also good cornerback options throughout the draft.

From that vantage point, it makes sense for San Francisco to trade down at least once, potentially landing some additional day-two picks while still having an excellent chance to land either a top-end wide receiver and a good cornerback.

Yet it could hinder the team’s ability to reinforce either the offensive or defensive lines, as those two spots are nowhere as deep in this year’s draft class.

Another thing to consider here is, just because the Niners are willing to trade down, which teams are wanting to move up and just how much compensation would Lynch be asking for? According to one report from the Colorado Springs Gazette’s Woody Paige, the Denver Broncos are looking to move up from No. 15 overall to as high as No. 8 in an attempt to land Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy.

Likewise, the Atlanta Falcons are potentially interested in moving up from No. 16 overall, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Either one of these scenarios could ultimately benefit the 49ers, particularly if some kind of bidding war kicks off in the first half of Round 1. And there are likely other teams in the mix to move up or down in the round, too.

Yet there’s always the chance this push of a report is merely that: a push.

For one thing, reports of this kind are common around the leadup to the draft, especially if Lynch is merely trying to gauge what his two first-round picks could command in some kind of trade. Also, just because the Niners are possibly interested in moving one of these two picks, it doesn’t automatically mean another team would be willing to offer up the right kind of compensation.

So, from that vantage point, the report essentially means San Francisco is doing little more than just fielding offers, which is what almost every team would be doing with its draft capital this time of year.