SF 49ers: Ranking 5 best trades under John Lynch

No. 1: SF 49ers trade down from No. 2 overall in 2017 draft

The reason this 2017 draft-day trade ranks as the best done by John Lynch is because of how much the SF 49ers extracted from the Chicago Bears to move up to select a player the Niners were likely not going to pick. Though Lynch had no assurances from the Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was the pick, there was enough information going both ways that it was likely not the player the Niners were going to pick.

San Francisco 49ers

Moreover, it’s the perfect example of extracting value out of an ideal situation. Though it might not seem as flashy as acquiring a star player, there was no need for San Francisco to move from the No. 2 overall spot.

But the SF 49ers did make the move and got three additional picks out of it.

San Francisco’s selection at No. 3 overall of defensive end Solomon Thomas didn’t exactly pan out, and the SF 49ers didn’t exactly capitalize on their third-round selections of cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and quarterback C.J. Beathard.

Yet it helps the innocuous 2018 third-round pick that shouldn’t have turned out to be much other than a good auxiliary piece turned out to be the selection of the best middle linebacker in the game right now, Fred Warner.

Instantly the best player from this entire trade on either team, and it’s just icing on the cake.

Trades like this are the best and most savvy moves teams can make. They take advantage of situations beautifully, extract maximum value wherever they can, and always make something out of nothing.

Were some of the selections bad? Yes. But was the trade a mistake? Absolutely not. The SF 49ers should make a move like this 11 times out of 10.