The San Francisco 49ers made an aggressive move last week when they pulled off a trade with the Miami Dolphins to jump up to No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft. The presumption was that the team moved up that much with an eye on a signal caller, as it’s exceedingly rare for teams pull off that kind of move for any reason other than landing a quarterback.
Almost immediately, two things started circulating. For one, the team did not plan on trying to move on from starting QB Jimmy Garoppolo, even if they took a quarterback with the third pick. The other was that amid what is an ultra-promising quarterback class, the guy the Niners have targeted was not Ohio State’s Justin Fields or North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, but rather, Alabama’s Mac Jones.
Both of these things were taken a step farther on Monday, when head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed both of these things prior to heading to Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Tide’s Pro Day and seemed to reveal his hand.
Kyle Shanahan said he is sure Jimmy Garoppolo was a little pissed off but "the more mad Jimmy gets, usually the better he gets." Shanahan said if that's the case and he's healthy, he expects Garoppolo to come back and play well, which "would be a very good thing for the #49ers."
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) March 29, 2021
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan asked on going to Alabama Pro Day tomorrow, and not North Dakota State or BYU, says it was important for the team not to tip its hand before the trade was done.
"Now that you're up at 3, you don't have to hide as much."
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 29, 2021
Obviously a key component of Draft season is to throw up smokescreens all over the place, and at the very least, “we plan on keeping Jimmy G despite the fact that we appear to be in the market for a quarterback,” is one hell of an attempt at keeping Garoppolo’s value afloat for trade discussions. It is also important to mention that there is no guarantee this is for Jones, because Alabama has a pair of receivers in this class — Heisman winner DeVonta Smith and speedster Jaylen Waddle — who would be outstanding fits in that offense. Having said that…
One takeaway I appreciate so far: #49ers not even remotely hiding that this move was for a QB. It was obvious that it was but can put to rest any speculation to the contrary. Shanahan: "We felt very strongly we'd get left at the altar at 12" for a quarterback.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) March 29, 2021
Listen, no disrespect to Jones, who had an outstanding season for Alabama in his one year under center, but this entire process by the Niners is astounding. Now, the team does have some flexibility with how it can handle Garoppolo’s contract, so at least there is that. Still, going all-in like this to take Jones, who is arguably the most limited of the five quarterbacks expected to go in the first round, is eyebrow-raising. He is a good fit in the Niners’ offense with some of the short and intermediate routes he’ll be asked to throw, but Lance and especially Fields are good at this, too, and both add a vertical threat and mobility that aren’t totally strengths of Jones’ game. Even if one wants to argue that Jones is the most ready of the three to play right away or the safest of the three — while I do like Jones, I’d take Fields here, but that’s neither here nor there — it’s a curious move, but Shanahan seems to no longer want to play a coy game with his preference with the third pick.
