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Earlier this morning, Peter King provided another rumor for consumption in his Monday Morning Quarterback. According to King, Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer has asked a late first round team about swapping spots with the Browns high second round pick (no. 35 overall).
You could make an argument for a lot of the bottom of the first round teams being Farmer's calling partner. One significant factor is the fifth year option. Contracts for drafted rookies are four years in length, but all the first round picks then have a fifth year option. That means if you move back into the second round, you're looking at a guy who will cost less out of the gate, but will be guaranteed to hit free agency sooner.
There has been plenty of chatter about how the 49ers are likely to move up in the first round. 11 draft picks and not a ton of needs opens the door for such a move. However, I remain convinced a trade down could be in the cards. And in reality, we could see a couple.
The most likely in my mind is dealing a second or a third, or some combination of picks to net a first or second next year. Some folks will say, well this draft is so deep, so why not load up now? My thought on that is with this view of a deep draft, maybe teams are more willing to unload future picks at more of a discount? A 1st might have less value in terms of depth, but if you trust football ops to find top end talent, why not boost the opportunity for it in the early rounds for next year?
The under-the-radar best part of the King report though? The idea of the 49ers and Browns doing a deal after all the rumors about Harbaugh. I don't doubt that the 49ers will do a deal with any team in the league, but there's something a little funny about the idea of this.