The 49ers’ acquisition of the No. 13 pick in this year’s draft greatly improved their ability to add a game-changing player with their first pick.
They were fortunate last season for quarterback Kyler Murray to go No. 1 overall, allowing defensive end Nick Bosa to slip to No. 2 to San Francisco. With 12 picks in front of them this year, they need several things to go right to maximize the talent and options available to them at No. 13.
Here are four things that the 49ers need to hope for if they’re going to get an elite talent at one of their top positions of need:
Quarterbacks fall
There are limits to the realistic hope the 49ers can have that a few of the quarterbacks slide. LSU’s Joe Burrow isn’t going to fall. Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa is probably a top-five lock as well. After that, San Francisco should cross its fingers that players like Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Utah State’s Jordan Love slide some.
If Herbert falls out of the top 10, he could become an enticing target for a team looking to trade up. Herbert going in that 10-12 range should push one of the top receivers further down the board for San Francisco. It could also add value to the 13th pick if Herbert falls to the 49ers and they aim to trade back from that spot.
Love isn’t liable to go near the middle of the first round, but if he starts sliding toward No. 31, it’ll make that selection for San Francisco a valuable trade target if a team wants to trade up into the back of the first round to make sure they get the fifth year on the rookie contract for Love.
The 49ers are probably not in the market for a quarterback in the first round, but getting some of this class’ top QBs to drop to them at each of their two picks could have a ripple effect that ultimately benefits them.