The NFL draft is coming and that means rumors about trades and moving up will start coming and the San Francisco 49ers have been at the forefront, as names like Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks, Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson and Sammy Watkins along with Logan Thomas are targets and the team has enough picks to make a move, as Jim Harbaugh has 11 coming into the event in May.
The 49ers are not afraid to make moves in the draft and in previous years they have moved up to make selections, including last year with Eric Reid and a few years ago with Colin Kaepernick. That is one reason why the team stashes picks like the Patriots, as they have the flexibility to move around in the draft and that could happen again this season for head coach Jim Harbaugh and GM Trent Baalke. The team could move up in one of the later round to get another backup QB like Logan Thomas, who is mobile and could fit in well with Blaine Gabbert and Kaepernick, while many have speculated that the team will try and trade up to get a receiver in the first round.
According to ESPN writer Bill Williamson, the 49ers are in good position to make a trade for a wide receiver in the first or second rounds, although they are likely too far out of things to trade up for Watkins. Many expect Watkins to go in the top 10 picks after the season he had last year and that means the Niners would have to give up quite a bit to get him and that might be more than they are willing to deal. Williamson writes that Evans could be in their wheelhouse along with Lee and Cooks, as they could use their two second-round picks to trade up for a higher pick earlier in the draft and that potentially could be between the number 11 and 20th picks. Last season Cooks had a great season with 1730 yards and over 120 catches along with 16 touchdowns, while both Evans and Watkins were almost as productive.
Cooks has been rising in draft boards and so has Evans and as the draft gets closer there is a chance that one of both of those players could start sneaking into the top 10. The 49ers have made a number of significant moves this offseason, including trading for Jonathan Martin and Gabbert and they also reportedly have been intrigued by the DeSean Jackson trade rumors and that could spell out what they will do in the draft. The team denied the Jackson reports, but they could use another receiver, as Mario Manningham signed with the Giants and with Anquan Boldin getting older and Michael Crabtree coming off of serious surgery, they could use the depth.
Evans has great size and looks ready to dominate in the NFL and the team could also look for a player like Thomas later in the draft, as he has been getting some positive reviews after meetings with teams and scouts. Thomas is coming out of Virginia Tech and he could be a potential backup option in the future for Kaepernick and according to ESPN.com, he met with the 49ers and coach Harbaugh this week and that could lead to a potential fit later in May.
