See ya at the Combine.
The San Francisco 49ers kept quiet at the 2018 trade deadline, and now head into the second half of the season with their roster and draft picks settled for the time being. There were rumors the 49ers were talking with teams about Pierre Garçon and Jimmie Ward, but nothing came of it.
The decision to make no moves means that for the time being, the 49ers still have five draft picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. The team has their first, second, third, fourth, and sixth round picks. They traded their fifth for Laken Tomlinson and their seventh for Shon Coleman.
The 49ers need more talent, so dealing Garçon and/or Ward or others for picks would have been helpful to the cause. That being said, the 49ers will have a fairly high first round pick. If they end up with a top five pick, they have a chance to add a serious impact player.
Where it gets interesting is if they decide to move down. If they hold the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in the draft, they could be in position to bring home a serious haul and still draft fairly high in the first round. If Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert ends up as a clear option at the top of the draft, maybe the 49ers deal down to a quarterback-needy team. If they think there are a couple other options worth pursuing besides edge rusher Nick Bosa, maybe they move down in the top ten.
The team does not need to get cute if they have a chance at a clear franchise-type guy, but the options are there if they want to add to their draft haul. It’s too early to tell if a trade down happens, but the 49ers will have some potential flexibility if they so choose. They can’t start making trades again until the start of the new league year in March, but we’ll see what kind of chatter happens come Combine time next February!
About the Author: Insidethe49
