San Francisco 49ers Should Use First Round Pick To Upgrade A Key Position

By Kevin Saito | Feb 26, 2017

Feb 5, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

The San Francisco 49ers are holding the number two pick in the upcoming NFL Draft – and should use that pick as trade bait to upgrade a key position.

Having the second overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft gives the San Francisco 49ers a good amount of leverage. There will be teams undoubtedly calling day and night, trying to make a deal that will pry that pick out of the hands of the new John Lynch–Kyle Shanahan regime. Wanting to get started off on the right foot, that first pick is going to be very important to this new regime.

While it’s true that the 49ers have a lot of areas of need to address, there is no bigger question mark than at quarterback. To help fix that, Lynch should make a call to a team that’s likely not going to call them first about a trade would vastly upgrade that position – the New England Patriots.

The speculation about quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s future in New England has been relentless and unending. With his name linked to teams like Houston and Cleveland, there is no shortage of suitors for his services.

And why wouldn’t there be? Having spent the last three years learning from Tom Brady, Garoppolo has had time to hone his craft. And he looked very sharp in the two games he started in 2016 while Brady served his Deflategate suspension, going a combined 42 of 59 (71 percent), for 469 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Granted, it’s a small sample size, but he seems to be the best option for a 49ers team in desperate need of a quarterback.

Should Colin Kaepernick choose to opt out of his deal – or should the team opt out of Kaepernick – San Francisco will have no quarterbacks under contract. They have a clean slate and can begin building from the ground up.

And the first order of business in building this team is identifying a solid, stable, and effective quarterback. The rumor mill has been churning and writers have been connecting dots about who the 49ers are going to bring in to be their quarterback. And a good many of those rumors have them bringing in a Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer, or even Matt Schaub to serve as the “bridge quarterback.”

But that begs the question – the bridge to whom?

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With the second overall pick, it stands to reason that they’d draft a quarterback. But which one? Deshaun Watson? Mitch Trubisky? DeShone Kizer? Pat Mahomes?

The problem is, there is no clear cut elite quarterback in this year’s draft. Pick any of them, and you’re rolling the dice, simply hoping that you don’t crap out. Any one of them could be great. Or all of them could be career backups. It’s an absolute crapshoot.

And picking the wrong quarterback, one who doesn’t pan out, can set a franchise back years. Ask the Cleveland Browns. Or the New York Jets. Or even closer to home, the Oakland Raiders after the JaMarcus Russell misadventure.

By dangling the second overall pick in front of Bill Belichick’s eyes in exchange for Garoppolo, they would be getting somebody with NFL experience, who has looked sharp in the games he’s played, and seems to be a far better investment than Cutler, Hoyer, or Schaub.

If they were to trade for Garoppolo, the need for a “bridge” quarterback would be gone and they very well could be setting themselves up really, really well. With a run game that was dominant – fourth overall in the league last season – and a receiving group that has some players, adding a solid quarterback could be the missing cog that helps make this machine run. And run well.

Adding a piece like Garopplo would then allow Lynch and Shanahan to turn their attention to solidifying other parts of this roster that need some overhauling.

With Brady expressing a desire to continue playing for the foreseeable future, there seems to be little doubt that Garappolo – who seems to have the talent and ability to be a starter in this league – will want to go somewhere he can actually play regularly. San Francisco could be that place.

Of course, any trade should be contingent upon Garoppolo signing a long term deal to stay with San Francisco. Given that he’s a free agent after next season, giving up that number two pick without assurances would be beyond foolish – and not a mistake Lynch and Shanahan are likely to make.

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Getting the right quarterback in house could help turn this team around faster than one might think possible. The 49ers have some great pieces on the roster already – they just need a good coaching staff, a few more impact players, and a solid presence under center.

By trading for Garappolo, they could have one of those missing pieces. But with a lot of teams jockeying for Garappolo’s services, the 49ers better get in line quick and make Belichick an offer he can’t refuse.