49ers trade up: The San Fransisco 49ers could be looking at moving up in the draft, using multiple selections in rounds two through five.
San Francisco has a lot of options, with 13 overall draft picks. But the team’s top draft pick is only number 31 overall, prompting a look at trading away some of the 13 in order to move up, according to a general manager referenced by Yahoo! Sports. The anonymous manager thinks that the 49ers are looking at getting the 13th or 14th overall pick.
“There is no way that the 49ers can keep more than five or six new draft picks with the way the team is structured right now,” writes Jason Cole. “Expect GM Trent Baalke to either trade up or trade out for picks in the future. The talk around the league is that the 49ers would like to get a defensive lineman who can eventually step in for veteran Justin Smith. The team also needs a safety, No. 2 tight end and could use an impact corner. All of that is possible.”
Cole reports that many of the teams with top spots are interested in trading down, potentially making a trade or two work well. The 49ers have the 34th pick overall, too.
NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling agrees, saying that there isn’t room on the 49ers roster for more than a half-dozen rookies. “As one of a handful of NFL teams currently enjoying a wide-open Super Bowl window, it makes sense to leverage the extra picks for a difference-maker or two to help put the 49ers over the top,” Wesseling says.
The 49ers got to the Super Bowl last year, but lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
The 49ers needs are on the defensive line, and at free safety and tight end, according to the Contra Costa Times. Candidates in the draft at those positions include Defensive End Margus Hunt, who is projected by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. as the 49ers first pick; Free Safety Kenny Vaccaro of Texas; and Tight End Zach Ertz from Stanford.
