SF 49ers: 4 trade scenarios with team’s top 2021 NFL Draft pick
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers move up in NFL Draft but not too aggressively
The first 10 or so picks of the NFL Draft this year are going to be wild with speculation. It’s likely quarterbacks like Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, BYU’s Zach Wilson and Ohio State’s Justin Fields are selected all within the top five, while there could be plenty of trade jockeying between pick Nos. 6 through 10 to land someone like Trey Lance or even Mac Jones, depending on whether or not the latter rises between now and April.
And so much is predicated on what teams selecting in the latter part of the first 10 picks wind up doing. The Philadelphia Eagles (No. 6 overall) are set with quarterback Jalen Hurts after trading Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts. So are the Detroit Lions (No. 7) overall after trading away Matthew Stafford to the LA Rams in exchange for quarterback Jared Goff.
But the four respective teams selecting after Detroit — the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys and NY Giants — don’t have clear-cut quarterbacking situations heading into 2021.
Do the Panthers want a long-term answer to replace quarterback Teddy Bridgewater? Are the Broncos and Giants pleased with their quarterbacks, Drew Lock and Daniel Jones, respectively? And what will Dallas do with its free-agent-to-be quarterback, Dak Prescott?
If the SF 49ers do want a quarterback such as Lance and want to avoid the massive X-factors immediately ahead of them at No. 12, a move-up with the Lions would make some sense for both parties.
The Niners are going to receive a third-round compensatory selection from the NY Jets hiring defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as their head coach. So using that as a package with another fourth-round pick should be enough to move up five spots on draft day, giving San Francisco its shot at a quarterback while providing Detroit with some much-needed ammunition to spark its own rebuild.