It’s not often a team goes into a draft with kicker and punter relatively high on its priority list. The 49ers find themselves in that position Tuesday after kicker Robbie Gould requested a trade. Punter Bradley Pinion’s departure already opened a hole at that position, but Gould’s potential exit makes it two special teams spots that San Francisco may have to address in this year’s draft.
That becomes difficult with only six picks and a ton of roster weaknesses to shore up.
They don’t have to do something drastic like take a kicker in the second round, but in a world where they use only the six picks they enter the draft with, it’s conceivable both of their Round 6 selections go to bringing in a punter and kicker.
Justin Vogel is the only punter on the roster, and his one year of experience came in 2017 with the Packers. Jonathan Brown would be the only kicker on the roster if Gould is traded. He’s never played in a regular season game.
We may see San Francisco roll with Vogel and Brown, but that seems unlikely given how much good special teams play can swing a game. They could also go the free agency route to bring in competition for those starting jobs.
It seems likely they scoop up a couple of specialists in the draft, and if they weren’t trying to acquire more picks before, they certainly will now in order to avoid a scenario where one-third of their selections go to special teams-only players.
The good news for the 49ers is they won’t need to do anything dramatic near the top of the draft just for the additional capital needed to squeeze in a kicker and punter. That move down can be made some time on Day 3.
Gould’s trade request doesn’t put a substantial dent in the 49ers’ draft plans unless they now plan on picking a kicker on Day 1 or 2. It could alter their flexibility some on the third day. It’s not ideal for San Francisco that this will affect them at all this offseason, but it’s a reality they’re now looking at with the draft only days away.
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