49ers 4-round mock draft including blockbuster Deebo Samuel trade

If the 49ers trade Deebo Samuel, they shouldn’t settle for anything less than a king’s ransom, but that’s what this mock NFL Draft has in store.

As if San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s uncertain future wasn’t enough speculation for one offseason.

Now, All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel is requesting a trade. The request came over a week ago, but just broke a week before the 2022 NFL Draft on every available platform.

Many people have asked, “What went wrong?”

The plain and simple truth is that Samuel knows his worth, and he’s making sure he gets paid accordingly. It’s safe to say that every wide receiver in his position would do the same.

No disrespect to the self-proclaimed “wide back.” But what good is your No. 1 receiver to your franchise if he never steps foot on the field? And what should the Niners do if he refuses to play? Letting the dispute linger into the regular season would be a mistake, but making an impulsive move that will change the entire future of this team would be disastrous.

Make no mistake, just because he’s asked for a trade does not mean he’s going to get one. Samuel is currently under team control and entering the fourth year of his rookie contract.

They probably won’t trade him, but if they did, here’s what the “king’s ransom” could look like:

After trading quarterback Deshaun Watson to the Cleveland Browns, the Houston Texans are not only abundant in draft picks, they have over $20 million freed-up in cap space. They would have no problem offering a long-term extension to their new No. 1 wide receiver.

The Texans showed a huge amount of confidence in second-year quarterback Davis Mills by trading away Watson. But giving him Samuel and fellow wideout Brandin Cooks to throw to would certainly increase Mills’ chance for success.

San Francisco has minimal cap space and many holes to fill. Making this trade for draft capital could surely help this team moving forward.

With four picks inside the top 80 of the upcoming draft, here’s what the first four rounds could look like in this mock involving a would-be blockbuster Samuel trade.