San Francisco 49ers locked in to their guy at QB after trade up

As the 2021 NFL Draft nears, it was clear that quarterback-needy teams were going to be looking at avenues to trade up. Well, the first domino has fallen in that regard, with the San Francisco 49ers trading the 12th pick, a 2021 third-round selection, and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 to the Miami Dolphins for the third overall pick.

The 49ers had a tumultuous 2020 season, losing plenty of key players to injury, and ended up missing the playoffs. However, they should be reloaded heading into the 2021 season and ready for another Super Bowl run.

The question for this team continues to surround the quarterback position. Is Jimmy Garoppolo good enough to win with? Most analysts don’t believe so, and it’s clear that the 49ers have joined this train.

This move signals that the 49ers are ready to move in a different direction and are locked into the guy they want at quarterback. However, can they be sure he’s available at three with the New York Jets sitting ahead of them in need of a quarterback?

In a word, yes. Not only are they sure, but the San Francisco 49ers know what the Jets are doing at two.

It may sound crazy at first, but NFL front offices and GMs have a pretty good indicator of what’s going to go down come draft time, well before fans and media do. In fact, when the San Francisco 49ers traded back one spot in 2017, they had a good gut instinct that the Bears were moving up for Mitchell Trubisky.

So, general manager John Lynch must have info on what the New York Jets will do with the second pick. It could mean that they feel good about Sam Darnold, or are locked into selecting a quarterback that the 49ers believe doesn’t fit them. The best guess is if it’s a quarterback is Zach Wilson will be the one headed to East Rutherford.

So who will the 49ers select at number three overall? It comes down to either Justin Fields or Trey Lance. Both players have incredible upside, great arm talent, and can operate from the pocket and make plays on the move.

Fields would likely be the starter sooner than Lance, who would likely sit a year, but Lance might have the higher ceiling with his uber-clean mechanics. Fields also has a connection to head coach Kyle Shanahan, which could ultimately be the deciding factor.

The rookie will inherit an offense that features an excellent running game, one that is quarterback friendly, has an elite tight end in George Kittle, and growing weapons on the outside in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

Either way, it’s a high upside swing that the 49ers should do, as they have a Super Bowl-caliber roster. Whoever it is, the San Francisco 49ers are locked in to their guy at quarterback, and know that he will be available at the third overall selection when the NFL Draft kicks off in just over a month.