This is the absolute worst outcome any 49ers fan wants.
So let’s talk trades. There going to be some trades in the 2019 NFL Draft. With Kyler Murray declaring he’s 100 percent football and Dwayne Haskins waiting in the wings, some quarterback-needy team is going to put together a deal. Or the Oakland Raiders can trade up to the first pick from the Arizona Cardinals and select Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa.
And both of those scenarios is exactly what Draft Network’s Trevor Sikkema outlined in his latest mock draft.
Trading out of first is the Arizona Cardinals, they trade the first for Oakland’s fourth, and 27th picks. This allows the Raiders to select Bosa.
The San Francisco 49ers stay put at No. 2 and take Kentucky Linebacker Josh Allen. Here’s what Sikkema says about the Allen pick:
San Francisco needs the best talent on the defensive line they can get, but unfortunately for them Quinnen Williams would start eating into other high draft assets like Solomon Thomas and DeForest Buckner on the inside — they sort of just need Thomas to figure it out in the middle and upgrade elsewhere.
San Fran would benefit much more by getting themselves one of the best edge players in this stacked edge class at No. 2. Now, I don’t think the talent gap between that of Josh Allen, Brian Burns and Jachai Polite is that far, if spacious at all, but it seems the NFL really likes Allen the most, so mocking him here makes sense.
The craziness doesn’t end there. The New York Jets make a trade with Washington of all teams. Getting their first and second rounders for 2019, and a 2020 first. Washington goes on to select Kyler Murray and solve their potential quarterback problem with Alex Smith’s leg injury.
That leaves the Arizona Cardinals at No. 4 and they get Quinnen Williams. The best need for their team, a projected No. 1 overall by many writers (including this one) and picks to go along with it:
*TRADE* OAK sends No. 4 and No. 27 to ARI for No. 1.
Well, this worked out lovely for the Cardinals now didn’t it?
This would be the beauty of a trade back by the Cardinals. If they can stay in the Top 5 and yet acquire more premium Top 50 picks, they should absolutely do it. The Cardinals’ roster needs help beyond just one pick at No. 1, especially since that pick won’t be a quarterback.
Quinnen Williams is one of the best football players in this draft class, and getting him at No. 4 would feel like a steal.
This is, by far, the worst scenario for the 49ers. Not only do they miss out on the best fit for their largest need, but their division rival gets theirs three picks later in exchange for more draft capitol.
And the sad part is, this could happen. There’s few teams in the NFL crazy enough to dump off a proven elite pass rusher for draft picks, only to turn around and use those draft picks on an unproven one, and that’s the Raiders. If Bosa has an incredible Combine, the Cardinals are not going to want the 49ers to get their mitts on him and there’s no one that’s going to take Bosa for that reason alone. But, trading to a team that will take him and get the guy out of the NFC West does make sense.
It’s not like Josh Allen is a bad player or a disappointment. He could be a crucial piece for the defense. He also could get more playing time than Bosa in that 49ers defense just due to his versatility in hurry-up, two-minute drills. It’s just that the Cardinals look like bandits and get the guy many think they’d be taking at No. 1 overall. We haven’t even gotten to how the Jets help out in this scenario by trading with Washington of all teams for a QB. As happy as you could be with Josh Allen getting picked, it’d be bittersweet knowing the Cardinals now can improve their team.
If a Bosa trade happens, this is the scenario that very well could happen. We can all only hope the Jets don’t make a trade to a QB-needy team at No. 3 to at least soften the blow and take Williams instead.
So that’s it. Sorry to ruin your morning.
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