If 49ers want Brenden Rice, will they need to trade up in Round 3 to get him?

Brenden Rice to the 49ers? It might require a trade-up in the third round, and the question is whether or not they should be spending resources to do so at the position.

One popular pick for the San Francisco 49ers is to take USC wide receiver Brenden Rice at some point in the draft, probably at some point in Round 3 or even 4.

His father is, of course, Jerry Rice, the Niners' franchise GOAT, and the romance of a reunion in the Bay Area is an obvious one.

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It's one thing to get Brenden Rice onto San Francisco's roster, but it's another to do it in a way that makes sense.

Before the draft process began, Rice was considered a receiver on the Day 2/Day 3 bubble in a year where the receiver depth was one of the deepest of all the positions.

But Rice has done such a good job in improving his stock, and he's well in the Day 2 category now. Probably not worth a second-round pick, but someone who wasn't going to be waiting too long after that to hear his name being called.

The 49ers possess only one pick in the third round (No. 94 overall), which might not be high enough to pick Rice. The Niners have 10 picks overall, but is San Francisco going to reach late in the second round or package some Day 3 selections to move up for a position that isn't of dire need just to complete the story?

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound receiver is a player 49ers fans desperately hope becomes part of the team, but it might be something that's doomed to fail unless the Niners trade up or reach for him in the second round.