The 49ers may be tempted to move up in Round 2 of the draft after seeing who fell out of Round 1, but the Niners aren't alone.
The San Francisco 49ers admitted wanting to trade up in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft to ensure they landed Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams.
Well, a trade-up ultimately failed. But Williams slipped to the Niners at No. 11 overall anyway, so everything worked out in the end.
General manager John Lynch may employ a similar strategy in Round 2, though, trying to get up from the 43rd overall pick to select a player earlier than scheduled, which is something Niner Noise proposed in our recent day-two mock draft in order to land Michigan cornerback Will Johnson, a top-10 prospect who slipped out of the first round likely due to injury concerns.
In that mock, Lynch and Co. moved up from No. 43 overall in a deal with the Cleveland Browns for the 36th overall pick, their second selection in the round, trailing Round 2's lead-off pick at No. 33 overall.
It sounds like a great idea. Cleveland aggressively traded down in Round 1 and then tried to do so again, meaning it wouldn't be a shocker to see a similar strategy employed once day two of the draft kicks off.
But, it might not be so easy for San Francisco to pull off a deal.
Browns reportedly receiving plenty of calls for 2nd-round picks
With mere hours counting down before the start of day two, Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz reported there were "several teams" calling the Browns about their picks early in Round 2:
Sources: Several teams picking in the high 30s and 40s are calling the #Browns (33), #Texans (34), and #Titans (35) about potential trades to try and come up. WR/EDGE are viewed as having tangible drop-offs and a wide range of evaluations — would expect both positions targeted… pic.twitter.com/n3IpggcwhK
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 25, 2025
On one hand, Schultz's report suggests there'll be a run on both wide receivers and edge rushers, positions the 49ers aren't likely to address in the second round. That could be beneficial if someone like Johnson is the ultimate target who gets pushed down by teams prioritizing other positional needs.
On the other, a team with either a bevy of picks or in a spot to make a luxury selection might simply be able to offer a better trade package to Cleveland than what the Niners are willing to offer.
Sure, San Francisco has 10 picks remaining. However, with a laundry list of needs, it's unlikely Lynch would shell out a sizable haul of draft picks to outbid other aggressive teams.
It wouldn't be shocking at all if the 49ers were one of those teams trying to trade up with the Browns, but the Niners appear to have plenty of competition if that's what they're trying to do.