The San Francisco 49ers aren’t in the best position in regards to potentially being a suitor for a team looking to trade up. There are a couple teams in front of them with leverage and at least three quarterbacks will before they get around to picking. But there are four or five quarterbacks that are worth drafting high in the first round.
As such, there will continue to be discussion about more trades for more quarterbacks. The New York Jets have already moved up. Many expect the Buffalo Bills will do so as well, even if they have at times suggested that’s not in the cards. And if the Bills are going to move up, the 49ers could be a good suitor, especially if Baker Mayfield is gone already.
Such is the scenario discussed by Chad Reuter of NFL.com. In a piece looking up five potential trades that “teams should be discussing.” A move up to No. 9 by the Bills comes after a move up to No. 8 by the New Orleans Saints, who nab Mayfield. Here’s what they have to say about the move involving the 49ers:
Buffalo Bills (No. 12) to San Francisco 49ers (No. 9) for QB Lamar Jackson
Bills GM Brandon Beane is playing it coy when answering questions about the team’s willingness to trade up again to get a quarterback. He’s already made a deal to move up nine spots (from 21 to 12 in a trade with the Bengals), and I won’t be surprised if he and head coach Sean McDermott trade up again to land a true playmaker at the position.
Last year, the Bears signed Mike Glennon to a three-year deal before drafting Trubisky. The Bills could follow suit -- their signing of AJ McCarron to a two-year deal earlier this month should not prevent them from striking for a QB in this draft. As for Jackson, he’s a special talent at quarterback. McDermott’s defenses practiced every day against Michael Vick in Philadelphia and Cam Newton in Carolina. I think he’d welcome that type of dual-threat QB on his team again this summer. The Niners would move back a few spots and add a third-round pick (No. 65 overall) to their draft haul as part of the trade, and might very well be able to claim the same player at No. 12 that they would have selected had they kept the ninth pick.
I personally am a believer in Lamar Jackson as a quarterback — certainly a lot more than several prospects in this draft. I tend to think a team will really like him and move up for him, rather than him making it to a team that will draft him naturally, regardless of all the stupidity about wide receiver drills and the like from the NFL Combine.
The 49ers make as much sense as anybody else in that case, no?