4 players 49ers could trade up for in NFL draft

The #49ers could make a jump up in the first round of the draft to snag one of these offensive linemen:

The 49ers are in a potentially advantageous spot in this year’s draft despite not picking until No. 31 overall. Given their need on the offensive line, the depth in this year’s class, and the team’s sizable capital in this year’s draft, there’s a very real possibility San Francisco identifies a player they love earlier than No. 31 and make a jump up the board to snag them.

This has been something the 49ers haven’t been afraid to do in the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era. The trade ups don’t always work, but it’s clear when they identify a player they like they’re willing to expend draft picks to move up and snag them.

Here’s a look at a handful of offensive linemen typically going before the 49ers pick in mock drafts that they could wind up moving up to go get:

Tyrion Davis-Price exit underscores huge draft problem for 49ers

Ty Davis-Price’s exit underscores how bad things have gotten for the #49ers in the third round of the draft:

The 49ers on Tuesday said goodbye to another third-round pick. Tyrion Davis-Price after two seasons in San Francisco left to join the Philadelphia Eagles on a reserve/future contract. His departure is another confirmation of a failed third-round pick, something that’s become all-too-common in the Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch era.

Not that hitting on picks in the third-round is the key to good drafting. Finding good players anywhere in the draft is paramount, and the Shanahan-Lynch 49ers have been superb particularly in the later rounds finding viable starters and quality depth pieces. However, there’s still premium talent available later on Day 2 where San Francisco’s current front office has really struggled.

Take Davis-Price for instance. He was the second running back selected in the third-round by the 49ers in as many years. They took him in 2022 partly because RB Trey Sermon, their third-round pick from the year prior, struggled so much. Now both are gone before Sermon’s rookie contract is up.

It’s not just running backs though. Going back through the third-round picks in the Shanahan-Lynch tenure shows just how badly the team has missed in that portion of the draft, particularly over the last five years.

Let’s take a look at all 12 third-round picks in the seven drafts run by the Shanahan-Lynch duo, and then crunch some numbers to find out just how dire things are:

2024 NFL draft order: Where do 49ers pick?

The 49ers are back in the 1st round of the NFL draft after a 2-year hiatus. Here’s where they’ll pick:

The 49ers offseason is officially underway and their loss in Super Bowl LVIII officially cemented their place, once again, near the bottom of the first round of this year’s draft.

The good news for San Francisco is that they don’t have to relinquish that pick this year. After skipping the first round in 2022 and 2023 because of picks dealt in their 2021 trade up to the No. 3 pick, the 49ers are back in action with virtually their entire slate of selections in the 2024 draft.

Here’s a look at the 2024 draft order as it sits in the days following the end of the 2023 season:

Rookie Aaron Banks to enter starting RG competition

#49ers second-round pick Aaron Banks is working his way into the starting RG mix as that battle materializes.

Perhaps the 49ers’ biggest position battle has gone almost entirely unnoticed through the first portion of training camp. San Francisco is still in search of a starting right guard. Pads coming on finally gave the club a chance to begin assessing their options at that spot, and the race began to take shape Wednesday.

Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel spoke with reporters after practice and talked about the interior of the offensive line. Rookie second-round pick Aaron Banks has yet to run with the starting group, but McDaniel indicated his time is coming after second-year OL Colton McKivitz got some first-team reps Wednesday.

“We’ve been playing Tom Compton. We’ve been playing Dan Brunskill. We’ve been playing a lot of guys in there,” McDaniel said. “At some point we’ll put Banks in there and they’ll all compete so that they have equal opportunity to earn that job.”

Brunskill was the frontrunner for the job until San Francisco selected Banks No. 48 overall out of Notre Dame. So why did it take so long to get Banks into the rotation?

McDaniel said there was some refinement required in his transition to the 49ers’ scheme.

“He’s doing a good job really attacking the technique that we ask our linemen to do,” McDaniel said. “A lot of the stuff that we ask them to do is a little different than they’re used to. So he’s attacking it. But with that, you’ll jump off side sometimes. You’ll be a little sloppy in your technique because you’re not used to. He can’t turn his brain off right now before he goes and plays. So that’s something that we’re not really concerned about at all. It’s a natural progression that all players really go through.”

While Lance headlines the 49ers’ draft class and his success will ultimate define the entire draft for San Francisco, they need Banks to be good as well. If they used a second-round pick on a player that can’t win the starting RG job while their depth in the secondary remains questionable, it’d be a pretty damaging draft hiccup for the front office.

How Banks acclimates will be key in shoring up the interior of the 49ers’ offensive line, so while the quarterbacks are front and center, keep a close eye on Banks’ progress because he’ll play an important role for San Francisco regardless of who’s calling signals.

10 facts about 49ers No. 3 overall draft pick QB Trey Lance

The San Francisco 49ers drafted former North Dakota State QB Trey Lance at No. 3 overall. Here are some facts surrounding the pick.

The San Francisco 49ers drafted former North Dakota State Bison quarterback Trey Lance No. 3 overall in the 2021 NFL draft.

The 49ers moved up to take their next franchise quarterback. What will coach Kyle Shanahan do with the FCS stud?

Here are 10 facts surrounding the 49ers’ drafting of Lance.

What have the 49ers done with the No. 3 overall draft pick?

The San Francisco 49ers have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft after their trade with the Miami Dolphins. What have they done in history?

The San Francisco 49ers made a deal with the Miami Dolphins to acquire the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Assuredly the NFC West club is going to use that pick on a quarterback. After all, aside from a rash of injuries, including those at the quarterback position, the Niners went from Super Bowl runner-up to last in the NFC West. With the success San Francisco generated in 2019, the winning under Kyle Shanahan should be a trend, not a fad.

Now that the 49ers have the No. 3 overall pick, here is a look back what they have done with the pick in their history.

2020 NFL Draft: San Francisco 49ers team preview

Draft Wire’s Gavino Borquez delivers everything San Francisco 49ers fans need to know heading into the 2020 NFL Draft.

Everything San Francisco 49ers fans need to know heading into the 2020 NFL Draft.

VITALS

Head Coach: Kyle Shanahan

General Manager: John Lynch

2019 record: 13-3

2020 DRAFT PICKS

1 (13)

1 (31)

5 (156)

5 (176)

6 (210)

7 (217)

7 (245)

TEAM NEEDS

Wide receiver

This position was always a need heading into the offseason, but after the 49ers lost WR Emmanuel Sanders, who signed with the Saints in free agency, it became even more glaring.

Defensive tackle

The 49ers traded DeForest Buckner to the Colts. Jullian Taylor, who’s expected to fill in for Buckner, is coming off a severe knee injury. Nose tackle D.J. Jones is also in a contract year.

Cornerback

Richard Sherman and Akhello Witherspoon are entering the final years of their contracts. Witherspoon hasn’t done enough to be retained and Emmanuel Moseley hasn’t proven himself as a long-term solution, either.

Offensive line

After releasing Mike Person, there’s expected to be a three-way competition for right guard between Ben Garland, Shon Coleman and Daniel Brunskill. The 49ers also need to find the successor to tackle Joe Staley.

TOP TARGETS

Jerry Jeudy | WR | Alabama

Denzel Mims | WR | Baylor

Ross Blacklock | DT | TCU

Justin Madubuike | DT | Texas A&M

Josh Jones | OT | Houston

Matt Hennessy | IOL | Temple

Noah Igbinoghene | CB | Auburn

Cameron Dantzler | CB | Mississippi State

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Ranking 49ers pairs of 1st-round picks

The 49ers have selected two players in the first round of the NFL draft 14 times since the AFL-NFL merger.

The 49ers enter the 2020 NFL draft with two first-round picks. If they wind up using two selections on the first day of the draft, it’ll be the 15th time since the AFL-NFL merger that the organization has used a pair of first-round selections in one draft.

Some of those turned out well, others did not. We went back through all the team’s first-round duos since the 1967 draft and ranked them in order from worst to best.

No. 14 | 2017 draft

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Pick 3: DL Solomon Thomas
Pick 31: LB Reuben Foster 

Thomas hasn’t been a necessarily bad player, but he was selected to be a dominant force on the edge for the 49ers. He’s fallen into a more rotational defensive tackle role. Thomas has just 6.0 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in his three NFL seasons.

The 49ers traded back into the first round to take Foster with the 31st pick. He is no longer with the 49ers after being accused of multiple domestic violence incidents, including one at the team hotel in Tampa Bay that led to his release. His rookie season was marred by injury, and his second year was derailed by his legal issues. Foster had 101 tackles in 16 games across two seasons.

7 Georgia Bulldogs taken in CBSSports’ full NFL mock draft

CBS Sports released a full NFL mock draft that included 7 Georgia football players being taken.

Most NFL mock drafts that we’ve seen over the past couple of months have had 2-3 Georgia football players going in the first round.

However, in CBS Sports’ most recent 7-round mock draft, the outlet has just one Dawg taken in the first round, and that’s left tackle Andrew Thomas.

Analyst Chris Trapasso projects the New York Jets to take Thomas with the No. 11 overall pick in the NFL Draft, which is currently scheduled for April 23 in Las Vegas.

On Thomas, Trapasso wrote:

Jets GM Joe Douglas knows how vital an offensive line is after his time in Philadelphia. Thomas was outstanding the two seasons at Georgia and has length for days.

Trapasso has Thomas ranked as the 15th overall player in the draft class and 4th ranked offensive tackle.

In total, Trapasso has seven Georgia players going in the draft.

Round 2: