With a reported interest in Jadeveon Clowney, the Atlanta Falcons are the talk of the draft-pick trade market just a week before the NFL draft. But the team with more resources to really make a move up, and perhaps the more likely team to actually pull off a deal, is the San Francisco 49ers.
NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock said Thursday he expects the club to find a trading partner to move up in the first round and out of its first-round pick at No. 30 overall. And if a deal can't be done? Fingers could be crossed for TCU cornerback Jason Verrett.
"I still believe, with (11) picks, they're going to trade up. And I think they're either going to target a corner or a wideout. I do not expect to see them on the clock at (30)," Mayock said. "Mostly, because the corner and wideout board will be wiped out by then. However, if they're sitting at (30), and you're talking about (Jason) Verrett on the board, I think he's by far the best value you can talk about at that point."
NFL Media senior analyst Gil Brandt, in a Twitter Q&A earlier this week, also identified the 49ers as a team on the move:
If the 49ers are indeed targeting a trade-up for a cornerback, names like Darqueze Dennard, Kyle Fuller, Justin Gilbert or Bradley Roby could be the target. A couple of those could require a move up into the mid-teens, while a couple others might only require San Francisco to jump forward 5-10 picks. At the heart of San Francisco's trade leverage is five second-day draft picks, two in the second round and three in the third.
Either way, the need is clear to Mayock.
"They need starting corners, in addition to nickel. That to me is critical. But Jason Verrett can compete on the outside, he can compete on the inside. He gets beat up a little bit on the jump-ball situations," Mayock said. "I would hesitate most of the time with guys that size. But because he's so fast and so competitive, I think he's a first-round pick."
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