San Francisco 49ers: What to do if Nick Bosa goes No. 1 overall

The San Francisco 49ers will find themselves in a very interesting situation if the Arizona Cardinals select Nick Bosa first overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.

For months, rumors have indicated that the Arizona Cardinals would select quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. However, some recent reports seem to indicate something different meaning that the San Francisco 49ers could be in line for a very interesting draft night.

Per a report from CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco, the Cardinals could very well pass on Murray and instead take Ohio State edge rusher Nick Bosa with the first overall selection. As a result, this would have ripple effects on not only the 49ers draft plans but the rest of the first round.

If Murray were to be selected first overall, the leaguewide consensus is that the 49ers would then take Bosa with the second pick. While there has been some chatter of the team potentially trading down or even selecting Alabama defensive lineman Quinnen Williams at that spot, either of those two scenarios would be surprising.

But if Bosa is off the board, all bets are off.

While it would be disappointing to miss out on an elite talent like Bosa, the 49ers would then see their list of possible options expand significantly. The team could stay put and take Alabama’s Williams, a consensus top-three player in the draft.

Williams is a dominant interior defensive lineman who broke out last season as a sophomore in his first year as a starter. Pairing him up with budding superstar DeForest Buckner in the interior could give the 49ers perhaps the best young pair of defensive tackles in the entire NFL.

Considering San Francisco already acquired Pro Bowl pass rusher Dee Ford in the offseason, edge rush doesn’t appear to be as pressing of a need at the moment. The team could shift around their defensive line and use the combination of Solomon Thomas and Arik Armstead — who both have fared better as run defenders — at the other end spot while providing pressure from the interior.

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If not, the 49ers could pull off a bit of a surprise and select an edge rusher such as Kentucky’s Josh Allen at the No. 2 slot, although this seems slightly high for him. Much like Williams, Allen broke out in 2018 becoming the SEC Defensive Player of the Year with his incredible 17-sack season.

However, Allen could be more of a target if the team trades back a couple of slots. Still, if the 49ers are really high on him, are determined to draft an edge rusher, and believe that’s he’s the next best thing, they could still opt to select him with this pick.

The final, and perhaps most intriguing option would be to try and orchestrate a trade down. With Murray still on the board, there are likely plenty of teams who would look to jump at the opportunity to select the consensus top QB in this year’s class.

While Murray certainly comes with his share of concerns, there’s no questioning his talent and in a relatively weak quarterback class, the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner evidently has the highest ceiling out of QB’s in the draft.

Teams such as the New York Giants, Denver Broncos, or even the Miami Dolphins could look to trade up and secure their hopeful quarterback of the future. Even teams like the Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Cincinnati Bengals could be surprise candidates to select a quarterback as well.

Simply put, there should be no shortage of trade partners.

The 49ers will, however, need to compete with a team like the New York Jets who are also reportedly looking to trade down. But if Murray is still on the board, teams could look to be proactive, leapfrog the No. 3 selection, and just move up to No. 2.

That could bode well for the San Francisco 49ers who could recoup some much-needed draft capital and select again later in the first round. Even though it wouldn’t be ideal for Bosa to be selected first, the 49ers would still find themselves with an abundance of equally intriguing options at their disposal.

It may even be the most favorable scenario.