Breer: Three teams selecting in the teens are looking to trade up

On Monday, Albert Breer reported that the San Francisco 49ers plan to keep Mike McGlinchey on the right side, and Kyle Shanahan is interested in a speedy receiver. Breer also talked about a few teams wanting to trade up. Those teams all happen to be picking shortly after the 49ers:

O.K., so who is looking at trading up? Three teams that seem to be investigating it pretty pointedly: Tampa, Denver, and Atlanta. The Bucs and Broncos, I’ve heard, could be going up for one of the top four linemen (Becton, Jedrick Wills, Tristan Wirfs, and Andrew Thomas), making Jacksonville’s slot, at No. 9, a potential hotspot, given the needs the Browns and Jets have at 10 and 11. It’s not as clear what the Falcons would be pursuing, though GM Thomas Dimitroff has always, in the past, been more proactive than most in looking at the option of moving up.

The odds that one of those four falls are high. Let’s break that down. Joe Burrow, Chase Young, Tua Tagovailoa, Derrick Brown, and Isaiah Simmons are the top-10 locks that you can put a stamp on and seal the envelope with. After those five, the likelihood of Jeff Okudah, Justin Herbert, Wills, and Becton being gone or significantly high as well. That brings us to nine players, which, to Breer’s point, makes Jacksonville’s 9th pick a hot spot. The Browns and Jets are in on the top tackles, as Breer mentioned, but they may sit tight and take the “best available.” That’d be great news for the 49ers because selecting a tackle pushes down a receiver.

I believe Wirfs will be available when the Niners are on the clock. If you’re John Lynch, do you take Wirfs— who can be an All-Pro guard and top-tier tackle— or do you compile more picks? That likely depends on which receiver is available. Ruggs should be there. I’m not nearly as confident that Jeudy and Lamb will. The Jags are high on Jeudy, so don’t be surprised if he’s the pick at No. 9. The dream scenario for me is all of the top three receivers are available when the 49ers are no the clock. John Elway wants Ruggs so bad he moves up to 13 to take him. San Francisco can move down two spots knowing Tampa Bay isn’t going to draft a receiver, and the Niners get their guy at 15 and pick up a third-rounder. In this scenario, the Raiders draft QB Jordan Love and take the best receiver available with their second first-round pick, like Justin Jefferson. That would be peak Raiders, which makes the move even more hilarious.

The takeaway here is that the 49ers should be busy on the first day of the draft. Teams will come calling for both picks. We should be rooting for quarterbacks and lineman to fly off the board, so other teams panic and feel like they need to move up. That way, Lynch will hold the cards on draft day.