NFL Trade Rumors: Are Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch willing to go bankrupt to land Julio Jones?
The San Francisco 49ers have been interested in acquiring Julio Jones from the Atlanta Falcons. Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have already made a blockbuster trade this off-season. Trading up for the third overall pick in the 2021 draft wasn't cheap for the 49ers.
The trade between the 49ers and Dolphins consisted of three first-round draft picks. Here's how the exchange between Miami and San Francisco broke down.
San Francisco 49ers received:
- Third overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft
Miami Dolphins received:
- 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft
- 2022 first-round pick
- 2022 third-round pick
- 2023 first-round pick
The San Francisco 49ers gave up all their first-round picks until the 2024 NFL draft, when they traded for the Dolphins' third overall pick. San Francisco gave up a lot to get an inexperienced, albeit promising, quarterback (Trey Lance). Lance is talented, but the Niners are basing it off his one year as a starter at North Dakota State.
The problem with the Trey Lance trade is that the 49ers gave up a ton of draft capital on hope. With Julio Jones being on the market, San Francisco has a big question to answer. Are they willing to go bankrupt to land Jones this off-season?
How will landing Julio Jones bankrupt the San Francisco 49ers?
The Atlanta Falcons want a first-round pick for Julio Jones. San Francisco won't have a first-round selection for three more years. If the 49ers want to land the seven-time Pro Bowl wideout, they'll need to trade their first-round pick for 2024 as well.
San Francisco will enter a bidding war with other franchises to land the Falcons star. The primary question here is that will the Atlanta Falcons want to wait three years to use the first-round pick from the 49ers?
It's unlikely that the Falcons will accept this offer from San Francisco, and the 49ers will need to add more weightage to their package. Atlanta holds all the leverage when it comes to trading Julio Jones. They can keep waiting until they find the perfect offer to trade their star wide receiver.
The San Francisco 49ers will have to offer their 2024 first-round pick and possibly their second-round selection in 2022 if they wish to land Jones. It will come down to Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch deciding if Julio Jones is worth giving up their first-round choices until 2025. Moreover, the Niners will not be able to pick until the third round of 2022 if they offer their second-round pick for next year's draft.
San Francisco's second-round picks are even more valuable to the franchise because that's their first-round pick until 2024. If they lose pieces on their defense or offense, they'll need those second-round picks to get some replacements. The 49ers need to pass on Julio Jones and hold on to their draft picks.