The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine is upon us for the rest of the week, as the top draft prospects will test and interview for NFL teams in hopes of hearing their names called later this offseason.
But the combine isn’t only a time where teams meet with prospects. It’s also an opportunity for head coaches and executives of teams to talk with one another ahead of the new league year, where trade talk and other business can begin to happen.
Just last year, the 49ers agreed to trade wide receiver Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders for a fifth-round pick during the week of the Combine. Now, with San Francisco looking to bolster its roster this offseason, could they look to make another trade or two?
If so, those conversations could start up this week, as general manager John Lynch noted that there are only a few times when most general managers are around each other to strike up those conversations.
“Oh, I think that’s accurate for sure,” Lynch said this week in regards to whether a lot of trade talks start at the Combine. “I thought you were talking like evaluations of players long before, and that sometimes is the case too. But, absolutely.
“There’s a couple, three probably, inflection points. Usually down at Mobile (at the Senior Bowl), you get most GMs are down there, then at the Combine, and then at league meetings. So, usually at one of those places, a lot of those conversations. And this week it’s kind of, everybody’s in that mindset coming off the season, now you’re really looking forward. And yes, a lot of those conversations have commenced, and the inception of them was here, and some finish here.”
The 49ers could be players in free agency this offseason with some extra money to spend, but they may also look to the trade market to fill some of their needs. One of those may be at defensive line, where San Francisco could use additional help both on the edge and in the middle. While there are some edge candidates in free agency, such as Jaelen Phillips, Trey Hendrickson, Odafe Oweh, and Khalil Mack, the 49ers could opt for a player with a better contract and send out draft capital in return.
Similarly, without much of a defensive tackle class in free agency, San Francisco could target an upgrade there via trade, as they did with Maliek Collins two years ago.
There is also the possibility of sending a player out, with Renardo Green being a rumored option for trade recently. ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Ben Solak gave an 80 percent chance that Green would be traded this offseason, noting the fit and the inconsistencies over his first two years. So perhaps those conversations could also begin to take place this week.
We’ll see what the 49ers elect to do in the coming weeks. But the trade market could be their way to upgrading and offloading their roster this offseason.
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