At the NFL Annual League Meeting last week, 49ers owner Jed York told reporters that the 49ers might trade up or trade down in Round 1 of the upcoming NFL Draft.
He also said that when a team is bad, it’s better to be really bad so it gets the rare opportunity to draft a special talent. So I’m guessing York would rather trade up than trade back this year.
The 33rd Team seems to be thinking along the same lines. In their latest mock draft by Ian Valentino, they project the 49ers to trade up with the Raiders for the No. 6 pick and take Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham.
“San Francisco has more needs than what we’re used to seeing with this regime, but it still has more picks (11) than what they can use,” writes Valentino.
“Moving some of that capital to land one of the few elite players at a position of critical need is worthwhile. Mason Graham is incredibly disruptive and might be the safest prospect in the class.”
Valentino makes good points. The only problem with Mason would be his fit in the 49ers’ Wide 9 defensive front.
At the Combine, Graham weighed in at 296 pounds and his arms measured in at 32 inches, which means he may not have the mass or the length to handle the constant barrage of double teams he’d face on the 49ers.
On a team that uses a five-man front such as the Rams or the Eagles, Graham would dominate because he would be protected from double teams and he would win his one-on-one matchups. The Wide 9 is designed to provide one-on-ones for the defensive ends, not the defensive tackles. They’re space-eaters in the Wide 9.
If the 49ers trade up in Round 1, I expect they’ll trade up for an edge rusher.