It’s the silly time of the year when it comes to the NFL draft. Teams will throw pretty much anything out there in hopes that it gives them an advantage come draft time. It leads most of us to believe that we have to take what is reported with a grain of salt.
This seemingly came to the forefront earlier in the week when reports surfaced that the San Francisco 49ers might select LSU product Leonard Fournette No. 2 overall, replacing incumbent running back Carlos Hyde in the process (more on that here).
While we’re not too sure the 49ers would go ahead and select a running back that high, it seems logical to assume the team might be looking to trade down from the second pick.
First-year general manager John Lynch pretty much confirmed that this was the case on Wednesday.
#49ers GM John Lynch said the team has an asking price in mind to move down from the No. 2 pick. ‘We’re open for business.'
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) April 12, 2017
In no way should this come as a surprise. Reports a few weeks back suggested that San Francisco would look to trade down from the second pick. In fact, the Carolina Panthers have apparently experessed interest in a trade.
Coming off a two-win 2016 campaign, San Francisco has a whole heck of a lot holes on both sides of the ball. Why not look to add valuable early-round picks while trading down in the first round?
Picking No. 1 overall, the Cleveland Browns are reportedly torn between pass rusher Myles Garrett and quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Whether that’s actually the case remains to be seen.
There’s surely a scenario in play here that Cleveland, who is flush with picks, could look to move up from 12th overall to the second pick in order to guarantee themselves both players.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out between now and the draft in Philadelphia later in the month.