The first round of the 2017 NFL draft saw quite a few trades, and I think pretty much loved the San Francisco 49ers move down with the Chicago Bears. You may disagree with the pick, but there is no doubting the the 49ers made a great deal in acquiring two third round picks and a fourth round pick to move down one spot.
It turns out Jacksonville Jaguars executive and former head coach Tom Coughlin loved the deal as well. During the Jaguars draft press conference, he was asked about the trade, and if he would like to be the recipient of one of them. Coughlin said, “Oh my gosh. Nothing like that has ever come my way.”
Jaguars EVP Tom Coughlin applauded 49ers tonight for their draft maneuvering with Bears. h/t @ryanohalloran pic.twitter.com/Gv66IWai2Y
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) April 28, 2017
The 49ers moved down one pick in the draft, with the Chicago Bears moving up to draft Mitchell Trubisky. ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported that the Bears were convinced the 49ers had at least one other trade offer and felt they had to push to make it happen.
I’m told Bears were indeed convinced 49ers had two trade offers — so they felt they had to sweeten deal. In other words, yes, Lynch wins.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 28, 2017
John Lynch said after the draft that another trade scenario was on the table. We’ll never know how true that was, but reports since have suggested the Bears were bidding against themselves. Michael Lombardi was unable to find anybody who might have competed with the Bears for the No. 2 pick. Charles Robinson said the 49ers shopped the pick hard, but nobody was willing to pay what the 49ers wanted ... except the Bears.
It seems pretty clear the 49ers bluffed the Bears on this one. During the draft there were reports of a second team, and after the draft, John Lynch said they had another scenario on the table. We may never completely know for sure, because Lynch has no reason to say that yes, he bluffed the Bears. Lynch would never admit that because it would create issues between the teams for future trades. It could be true, but it also could simply be Lynch giving the Bears an easy landing after what most agree was a bad trade.