The 49ers enter the 2020 draft in a precarious spot. They have just one pick in the top 150, and a potential for a couple of key holes to fill depending on how free agency shakes out.
Unless they opt to pick in the first round, then try to use most of their later draft capital to move up into the late third early fourth and roll with a draft class of only a couple players. That seems less likely than the scenario where general manager John Lynch trades down from No. 31 to acquire more picks in the middle rounds.
What might the 49ers fetch in that kind of trade? We went through using the DraftTek trade value chart to figure out a ballpark estimate of what San Francisco’s No. 31 selection might fetch in some hypothetical trades.
Trade with Cowboys
Cowboys get: No. 31
49ers get: Nos. 51, 82 and 120
This would be an ideal scenario for the 49ers, where they keep all of their late picks, and move down 20 spots to pick up three selections, including one each in the second, third and fourth rounds. For Dallas, they could acquire a first-round talent with a fifth-year option, which is ideal for a team running into some salary cap issues with their top players.
While it wouldn’t allow them to snag a high-end talent late on Day 1 or early on Day 2, it would give them substantially more draft capital to work with to maneuver around the board. This would take San Francisco from six picks to eight, with one each in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, two in Round 5, one in Round 6 and two in Round 7.
This year’s draft class is supposed to be deep at wide receiver, so the 49ers could still address that need with a good player later in Round 2, then they can go to work filling out the fringes of their roster with those other mid-round picks.