5 sneaky trades 49ers could pull off in 2023 NFL Draft

49ers NFL Draft trade No. 5: ‘Selling high’ on Brock Purdy

Wait, what? The Niners move quarterback Brock Purdy instead of Trey Lance?

Well, if you’re not sold on San Francisco trading Lance, then Purdy becomes trade bait. And if you were sold on Lance being on the trade block, you need not read any further.

Unless the 49ers watch the New York Jets botch the would-be blockbuster trade with the Green Bay Packers for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, leaving Gang Green in an awkward position with incumbent quarterback Zach Wilson and clamoring for a more likable option.

And few options seem a likable as Purdy, who entered last year’s fray as the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft but ultimately took the Niners to the NFC Championship game.

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Granted, Purdy is hurt and recovering from offseason elbow surgery. That’d obviously knock down his value, and he’d have to clear a physical before any trade would become official.

That said, Purdy’s stock value is at an all-time high, and it’s very possible (perhaps even likely) he far surpassed and outplayed what would be expected and received from him in future seasons.

A desperate Jets team sending off a second-round pick, No. 43 overall for Purdy, would get San Francisco in a position to cash out nicely on its seventh-round investment from a year ago.

The 2023 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday, April 27.