NY Jets, San Francisco 49ers are likely trade partners on draft day
By Paul A. Esden Jr.
The NY Jets and the San Francisco 49ers are likely trade partners on draft day. Here are all the details and what it could mean.
The NY Jets are in a very interesting position ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft.
With the 11th overall pick, the team could simply stay put and take the best wide receiver or offensive tackle available. Or they could capitalize on their position by trading back and accumulating more assets.
Currently the green and white have eight selections in the upcoming draft: a first-round pick, second-rounder, a pair of thirds, a fourth, a fifth, and finally a pair of sixth-round draft choices.
The consensus among the NFL Draft analysts is every top wide receiver projects to be available when the NY Jets are on the clock in the first round.
While the team should be interested for obvious reasons, a variety of other NFL teams will also be clamoring to pick one of the top wideouts including the San Francisco 49ers.
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Earlier this offseason the 49ers traded away talented defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts for the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Many people expect the 49ers to add a receiver at that spot after losing Emmanuel Sanders during free agency to the New Orleans Saints.
San Francisco could be motivated to jump to the front of the line knowing that both teams ahead of them could go wide receiver as well (NY Jets at 11 and the Las Vegas Raiders at 12).
Per the NFL Draft Value Chart, the difference between the Jets and 49ers selection is 100 points. Although it’s important to note that the draft value chart is more so a guideline as opposed to law and a bidding war could increase the price of Gang Green’s selection.
Unfortunately, San Francisco only has seven selections in the draft and only two of those are in the first four rounds. So if the 49ers are going to trade up they’d likely have to send a combination of 2020 and 2021 selections.
The other pick San Francisco has in the first round is 31st overall and per Matt Miller of Bleacher Report “they’re exploring trade-back opportunities.”
General manager Joe Douglas has proven to be a calculated man that isn’t willing to be irresponsible. But the Jets enter the 2020 NFL Draft with two glaring needs at offensive tackle and wide receiver.
If the team is able to secure one of those needs with the 11th overall pick, they could then call up the San Francisco 49ers to trade back up into the first round to secure the other hole on the roster.
The 31st overall pick is worth 600 points on the NFL Draft Value Chart.
One possible trade that makes sense according to the chart is the Jets trading their second-round pick (48th overall, 420 points) and their third-round pick (79th overall, 195 points). Technically this would be overpaying by 15 points, but the Jets would be able to maintain the 68th overall pick in the third-round via the NY Giants, Leonard Williams trade.
This would allow the NY Jets to possibly add an offensive tackle (Austin Jackson or Josh Jones) or a wide receiver (Denzel Mims, Tee Higgins, Brandon Aiyuk, Justin Jefferson, or Jalen Reagor), whichever position they didn’t address with the 11th overall pick.
Whether the 49ers want to trade up at 13 or if they want to trade back at 31, the NY Jets are a likely trade partner on draft day.