Rumors of Sam Darnold’s availability in the trading market will only get louder as the new year of competition and the NFL concept draws closer. The 49ers are tied to a potential Darnold deal in several hypothetical trades, but nothing substantial has been reported about San Francisco’s interest in the quarterback.
If they thought about doing such a thing, it wouldn’t be cheap.
NBC Sports’ Peter King wrote in his Football Morning in America column that there is interest in Darnold throughout the league, which would at the very least cost a high second round.
From King:
No team has a better design situation than the Jets in the next 14 months. They currently own a decent chunk of quarterback real estate in Sam Darnold. Anyway, he’s worthy of a good pick for round two in this draft – perhaps 39th overall for Carolina, or 40th for Denver, or 43rd for San Francisco. (The 49ers are my personal favorite.)
The 49ers make sense as a landing site for Darnold, as many of the No. 3 pick’s previous struggles in three years with the Jets could possibly be attributed to organizational failures around him. San Francisco has an infrastructure, along with head coach Kyle Shanahan’s offensive plan, that could potentially take Darnold to the next level he has achieved in his career so far.
On the other hand, moving a second round for him means that the team is probably aiming to get him started this season as he is in the last year of his rookie deal. Using a second round pick on a backup that could leave free agency the following year probably isn’t wise use of a premium pick for a team with the same number of holes as the 49ers.
We thought the club could reschedule a mid-round pick for Darnold to get him back into the building and see what he can do on the ground before offering an extension in the off season. It would be worth an interim selection to find out what Darnold looks like in Shanahan’s offense. A choice from the second round carries a much higher risk.
Ultimately, the 49ers need to identify a player who can be their long-term answer if Garoppolo doesn’t improve his game or stay healthy in 2021. If Darnold is that player, it makes sense to get him – even for a second round. picking. However, if there is any doubt about him, the pick could be better used for a rookie without a track record of underachieving in 38 NFL starts.