The 49ers and Patriots came together on a trade last October that sent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second round pick (now 43rd overall). The teams are now familiar with one another and know the high value of the QB position. Would it make sense for the 49ers to return the favor a bit and help the Patriots land their future QB?
The era of Tom Brady will close soon. Despite all the talk he'll play until he's 45, I just can't see him staying much longer, maybe 2-3 years more at best. Bill Belichick is arriving at his end too and may not even outlast Brady. So the Patriots need a succession plan. It looks like their heir apparent at head coach will be Josh McDaniels (actually it's blatantly obvious). They also need a succession plan for Brady as the only other QB on their roster is veteran journeyman Brian Hoyer. It's suffice to say that they badly need a future QB, and this draft seems like their best bet with the deep and talented class of QBs there are available.
The Patriots hold two first round picks and a bevy of other valuable picks beyond that. They have all the ammo they need to trade up into the top 10 for a QB. Here's where the 49ers come in.
The 49ers hold the number 9 pick in the NFL draft. While that pick likely is too far away for them to get Darnold, Rosen, Allen or even Mayfield, there's still an option there they may want.
That option is Lamar Jackson of Louisville. Jackson is the only QB the Patriots gave a pre-draft visit to, and they reportedly came away impressed. It seems to me this would be the QB that Josh McDaniels would want to begin with in his tenure as Patriots head coach.
People might say Jackson could be there at 23 when the Patriots pick, but I actually doubt it. With where teams stand now in pick position, the Dolphins, Ravens, Cardinals, Bills (2 picks at 12 and 22), Chargers and Bengals all could be in position to take Jackson ahead of the Patriots first pick and some teams behind them like the Jags, Saints and Steelers might be aggressive and try to trade up themselves to get ahead of the pack for that pick to take Jackson. Jackson seems like a guy that is garnering a lot more love lately than before and could be a hot commodity in the middle of the first round.
In order to get him, the Patriots might have to make a very un-Patriot-like move and trade up into the top 10 to get Jackson before the 6 or 7 other teams can make a play for him in the middle of the first round. This would mean trading the 23rd and 31st picks plus a couple other picks later on for the 9th pick (49ers might cut the Patriots the slightest of discounts because of Garoppolo, just to keep the relationship strong as ever but the haul would still be significant).
I think it is interesting that Lamar Jackson was the only QB the Patriots brought in for a pre-draft workout. It makes it seem on the surface like they are honing in on him. If that is true, which is no guarantee, the Patriots will have to find a way to trade ahead of all the teams in the middle of the pack of the first round that could pick Jackson too. This is why a trade up with the 49ers at 9 might be just crazy enough to work. The Patriots have plenty of draft capital to make this deal and the Patriots and 49ers current regimes have a history of making deals with each other and there's a relationship present between them.
Many people might not even consider this a possibility but if I've learned anything from draft day, it's that you have to expect the unexpected. The craziest things that happen may also be the most obvious things you can think of. So, watch out for this trade on Thursday night.
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