49ers fans got the news they didn’t want to hear with Deebo Samuel requesting a trade, here’s why the Niners must strike a trade right now.
With crisis can come opportunity, at least that’s the message all San Francisco 49ers fans are currently telling themselves with the reports All-Pro wide receiver Deebo Samuel wants out.
Samuel is an integral part of the offense with 77 receptions for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns receiving and 59 carries for 365 yards and a further eight touchdowns.
He was pretty much unique in the NFL, and therein lies the problem.
Read More: 4 reasons why 49ers shouldn’t budge on Deebo Samuel trade request
The 2019 second-round NFL Draft pick doesn’t want to be a hybrid player and instead just a regular wide receiver, which didn’t fit in with what the team had in mind for him. He now seeks a fresh start.
It’s important to keep in mind this in no way necessitates the 49ers to actually find a trade partner. Samuel is under contract for one more year, and while the relationship is not great, it’s by no means a bridge burnt. Things change in the NFL, and with time, Samuel may decide he wants to stay in San Francisco.
But there’s a case to be made for the 49ers striking while the iron is hot and finding a trade partner sooner rather than later, for quite a few reasons.
Reason No. 1: 49ers have a perfect trade partner for Deebo Samuel in the wings
The Niners are pretty firm about their stance on Samuel in that he will not be traded no matter what given how essential he is.
But nothing is concrete in the NFL, why keep a player who doesn’t want to be there?
The 49ers do have some trade leverage, given they don’t need to deal Samuel right away, and the All-Pro is bound to gain interest across the league.
It just so happens there’s a team that makes all the sense in the world.
The New York Jets simply must be the top candidate if a trade occurs. They’ve been trying to land a top receiver to help quarterback Zach Wilson and came very close to landing now-Miami Dolphin Tyreek Hill. There have been claims also they offered the No. 10 pick to the Seattle Seahawks for D.K. Metcalf, though that has been met with skepticism.
Metcalf is good, but Samuel is an All-Pro and could net multiple first-round picks. Samuel probably wouldn’t net two top-10 picks himself (the Jets currently sit at No. 4 and No. 10) but the No. 4 pick or No. 10 and a second-round selection aren’t out of the realms of possibility.
The Jets also mean Samuel is sent out of the NFC, and the team of course has links to its head coach, Robert Saleh, still a very popular man among San Francisco fans.
It just makes sense.
Reason No. 2: Exceptional NFL Draft class to replace Deebo Samuel
If Deebo Samuel is traded elsewhere, then the 49ers picked a good year to do so given that one of the few positional groups that aren’t weaker than usual in this draft is the wide receiver group.
This draft is considered to be weaker than usual, but this doesn’t apply here, and the Niners have quite a few names to pick from.
For argument’s sake let’s say San Francisco made the following trade:
There’s quite a few avenues to explore here. With No. 10, the 49ers could pick Garrett Wilson from Ohio State, a player who has many skills similar to Samuel who could take on that role. They could also take someone like Drake London from USC, who has real mismatch potential with his height and speed, or be patient and take Jameson Williams from Alabama, who would be the surefire top receiver off the board if he didn’t get hurt in the National Championship game.
Or the 49ers could package the other picks to move back into the first round and pick quarterback Trey Lance’s college teammate in North Dakota State wideout Christian Watson, a player who wouldn’t need to wait to find chemistry with his new signal-caller.
Alternatively, the team can stand pat and pick someone at the top of the second round. Calvin Austin from Memphis and George Pickens from Georgia would fit in with this scenario.
There’s a lot of receivers to like in this class, and the 49ers have had a knack for hitting on most of their receiver picks to varying degrees in past drafts.
Reason No. 3: It helps recoup some of the draft picks in the Trey Lance trade
Last season, the 49ers gave up a lot to get Trey Lance onto the team. We’re yet to see how it’ll fare out, but if Lance becomes a franchise quarterback, nobody will be saying the team gave up too much.
But the idea for the Niners was to get at least some picks back to help for the future. A potentially lucrative trade for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo just hasn’t materialized, and the best the Niners could hope for is a second-round pick and probably something later than that.
Deebo Samuel is a different matter altogether with his young age and proven ability. Receivers aren’t traded for a premium like quarterbacks are, but the truly elite do merit huge trade packages.
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There’s no reason why the 49ers couldn’t net multiple first-round picks if a bidding war escalates, and it’s highly likely Samuel will create just that. Teams would love the idea of such a weapon on their rosters, and his youth makes him just as attractive to rebuilding teams as contending ones.
Trading Samuel would be a bitter pill to swallow and everyone would much rather just keep him on the team, but moving him on just solve the problem of how San Francisco can find a way back to picking early in the draft.