The San Francisco 49ers have a lot of options at their disposal with the No. 2 overall pick, and one such option would be trading down. And apparently rumors are floating around. Matt Barrows reported on Wednesday that there is talk the Carolina Panthers are trying to acquire the No. 2 pick, but he was told there is “nothing currently in the works.”
Lots of talk/rumor about Carolina (picking at No. 8) trying to obtain #49ers' No. 2 pick. Told there's nothing currently in the works.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) March 29, 2017
The 2017 NFL Draft is a month away, and the owners’ meetings provide a chance for face-to-face discussion about trade possibilities. It could push things forward for Jimmy Garoppolo and/or Tony Romo, but it also likely pushes forward discussions about draft pick trades.
Using the old school draft value chart, the 49ers No. 2 pick is worth 2,600 points and the Panthers No. 8 pick is worth 1,400 points. The value chart is not the same for every team, but it gives us a place to work from in pondering potential draft trades.
However, we can also look back at last year’s trade between the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles, which involve the second and eighth picks. The Eagles acquired the second overall pick, and the Browns fourth round pick. The Browns acquired the eighth overall pick, plus the Eagles third and fourth round picks, as well as the Eagles first and second round picks in 2017.
The Eagles moved up to draft Carson Wentz with the No. 2 pick, which is a different scenario than what this might entail. Moving up for a quarterback is going to cost more than moving up for most any other player at No. 2. There are big impact players available at No. 2, but I would not be surprised if the deal ended up being for less than that Eagles-Browns trade.
Another trade to compare would be the Browns-Bills trade in 2014. The Bills were at No. 9, and the Browns were at No. 4. The Bills acquired that fourth pick, and gave up their ninth overall pick, plus first and fourth round picks in 2015. The Bills used the pick to draft wide receiver Sammy Watkins.
One upside to the two sides potentially discussing a trade is the fact that the Cleveland Browns are all but certain to pick pass rusher Myles Garrett with the No. 1 pick. There are a lot of possibilities at No. 2, but the 49ers can potentially discuss trades knowing pretty well what will be available at the pick. There is a long way to actually getting a deal done, but it removes one obstacle from early conversations.