It looks like the 49ers will be getting a quarterback at some point in this year’s draft. Even if they’re not aiming for a long-term starter, they need to find a suitable backup for Jimmy Garoppolo. There is a scenario where they don’t draft a quarterback, but instead use a pick to acquire one in a trade. A trial version at Pro Football Focus performs this step for San Francisco.
In this PFF mock up, the 49ers trade Miami’s No. 12 overall pick to sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after the Dolphins captured Ohio State’s Justin Fields with the third overall roster they acquired from the Texans in the Laremy Tunsil trade.
It is not just an acquisition. This mock has three quarterbacks in the first three picks and five in the top nine. Given the 49ers’ plethora of needs, it’s hard to see them say goodbye to a ton of design capital to move up and get their hands on a signal caller in case the market is hyper-competitive for them early on in design.
A trade of the No. 12 pick for a 23-year-old former top-five squad who is accurate in all three levels of the passing game makes sense when the 49ers hold the position so high in this year’s draft .
However, there is a big question mark as to whether Tagovailoa is the signal caller they would spend number 12 on. He went 6-3 in nine starts for the Dolphins this season as a rookie. His numbers weren’t super impressive with a 64.1 percent completion rate, 6.3 yards per attempt, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions. There’s also the fact that he sat on the couch several times in favor of journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Dolphins’ organization has supported Tagovailoa and its future development, but it would be easy to see how the 49ers might be wary of tackling that project when they are ready to compete for Super Bowls.