Now that the Los Angeles Rams have moved into the draft’s top slot with eyes on a quarterback (immediately followed by the similarly intended Cleveland Browns), the San Francisco 49ers’ hand seems to be forced unless they really want to reach for a quarterback at the No. 7 slot. Now trading back in the first round seems like an attractive plan, adding to their league-high 12 draft picks this year. Of their dozen picks, only three are in within the first 75 selections. A handful of late-round picks can’t easily rebuild a team from Day One, but getting some more firepower in the first two days of the draft seems feasible and the 49ers seems desperate enough entering coach Chip Kelly’s first year on the bay.
Before the Rams trade was announced, the 49ers were rumored to be shopping veteran safety Antoine Bethea and the yet to be reinstated Anthony Davis, likely to stockpile even more draft picks.
Davis shot down those trade rumors quickly, so it’s mere speculation of what his role is at this point considering he’s not even on the roster yet. But rumors of putting the Bethea on the trading block are still afloat. He’s only two years removed from a Pro Bowl campaign and he’s always been a strong contributor. At the same rate, Bethea is coming off a season-ending torn pectoral at age 31, driving his value down.
It makes sense the 49ers feel comfortable to part ways with the three-time Pro Bowl selection considering last year’s second round selection safety Jaquiski Tartt proved that he can hold his own in the secondary. Safety may be the one position that doesn’t need to be addressed in the draft with Tartt and two former first round picks there.
That highlights part of what’s gone south in San Francisco, positioning Baalke for public criticism for the downfall. The best and only thing the 49ers may feel reasonable about parting ways is a safety considering they invested in three safeties in the opening two rounds of the past three drafts. In turn, Bethea is at best worth the equivalent of a fifth round pick, depending on the trade partner’s extreme need for a safety. Add in one of the 49ers’ five sixth-round selections, moving into the fourth round is the best logical outcome.
At the moment, that feels like the direction this ship could be heading now that the likelihood of drafting a quarterback early seems out of the picture — a signal caller they’ve expressed interest in like Connor Cook is likely to be around for Day 2. Now attention to a wider array of weaknesses can be addressed in this new scenario that lessens the temptation to bench both Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert so that a first-round quarterback doesn’t go to waste.
There’s going to be a camp of fans and media types that still want the 49ers to look into investing in a quarterback early on, but that’s wishful thinking now that their division rivals jumped the proverbial gun. This is the hand the 49ers have been dealt and it plays into their favor considering there was apparent interest to make swing some deals. So whether Kelly is just putting on a smile for the cameras, he seems to be embracing this new path that puts a franchise quarterback out of the question, wanting to resurrect Gabbert’s career instead. That will be a difficult task to accomplish without more surrounding talent, now the 49ers have every good reason to keep searching for trade partners.
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