4 trades 49ers could make that would shake up 2022 NFL Draft
By Peter Panacy
49ers NFL Draft trade No. 3: Panthers trade EDGE Brian Burns
Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer made it sound like he wants to build a defense around fourth-year EDGE Brian Burns moving forward:
Fitterer says Panthers will pick up the fifth-year option on Brian Burns, which is a no-brainer. Says he's the kind of player -- like DJ Moore and Donte Jackson -- that Panthers want to build around.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) March 25, 2022
Picking up Burns’ fifth-year option helps indicate that, but let’s be honest here. The Panthers have no chance to contend with quarterback Sam Darnold under center, and they’re certainly not going to be in contention within the NFC South this year. Especially with quarterback Tom Brady returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
What Carolina should do, especially considering it has zero picks in the draft between No. 6 overall and No. 137 overall, is send off assets who’ll likely be too expensive to keep around by the time it’s a contending team again, likely no less than two years from now.
Not a good situation to be in for a team going through a rebuild.
Burns, who had nine sacks apiece in each of the last two seasons, is a valuable commodity, and it’d likely take both of San Francisco’s first two picks to grab him.
For a 49ers team ready to win now, pairing Burns with fellow 2019 draftee edge rusher Nick Bosa would be a lethal combination, and those two day-two draft picks would be more than worthwhile.