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Bay Area columnist Tim Kawakami decided to get into the NFL Draft trade rumor mill Wednesday afternoon, as he posted a couple quick nuggets pertaining to the 49ers:
For the 49ers, it looks like they can get to the 12-15 range, but they're looking at smaller jumps, too, obviously also targeting WRs.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) May 7, 2014
49ers are getting trade calls for #30, mostly from teams trying to move up from the 2nd round probably aiming for QBs Carr or Garoppolo.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) May 7, 2014
Sounds like the 49ers explored getting into the top 10 but it would cost them next year's #1 and that's not their style. Won't do it.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) May 7, 2014
We have a couple of ways we can take these rumors. The first is taking them at face value. The 49ers are interested in dealing (not a shocker), but they've decided top ten is too rich for their blood. If they were targeting an Odell Beckham, Mike Evans or Sammy Watkins, this "news" would indicate they are not willing to pay the price to move up if it looks like they're going in the top ten.
On the other hand, we can also view this information in another light. When news media has a source saying a contract has been completed, or player X is signing with Team Y, I am generally willing to look at it a little more straight up. When it comes to speculation like this, I get a little more skeptical. And maybe this is the lawyer in me, but I start to ask myself questions. Foremost in my mind is usually "why did anonymous source(s) provide this information?
Looking at the top ten "news" first, I do not doubt that he has been told something either directly saying this, or something from which he could infer this. However, I also think there could be a reason for this information getting out. The most likely in my mind is to potentially let other teams know the 49ers are interested, but their price is not going to include a future first. This could get a top ten team calling them with a better offer, or it could keep someone from wasting their time with a call.
As for the rumor about trading into the second round, it easily could be just letting everyone know, hey, this deal is on the market. NFL teams do keep an eye on Twitter and other news media to see what's out there. NFL Network reporter Albert Breer retweeted the top ten tweet. It's safe to say teams will see this kind of stuff, and maybe it gets them going in some form or fashion.
NFL Draft chatter gets plenty busy from February to May, but the trade rumors in particular heat up when we get into the few days before the draft. Teams are running out of time, and if they are not set on a given player, they want to get whatever they can for a pick without coming off as desperate.
So what does this particular piece of news? It could be everything, something, or nothing. We'll find out some kind of answer on Thursday, but it still makes me think of one of my favorite scenes from The Princess Bride.