The 49ers pulled off a blockbuster trade to move up to the third overall pick in this year’s draft without knowing which players would go first and second. But they have a good feeling that a good quarterback will be there at No. 3.
San Francisco General Manager John Lynch acknowledged today that he doesn’t know what the Jaguars will do with the first overall pick or what the Jets will do with the second overall pick, but he thinks (like everyone does) that the Jaguars will take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence first, and that whoever the Jets take at No. 2 will leave a franchise quarterback available for the 49ers at No. 3.
“We don’t have intel on what’s going on,” Lynch said. “I think those two teams have been pretty forthright. Urban Meyer’s been on record, they were there watching Trevor at Clemson. Who knows what’s happening with the Jets? Ultimately, the decision we made is we were very comfortable with this group of players at the top of the draft.”
Lawrence appears to be a lock at No. 1, and just about everyone thinks the Jets will take BYU’s Zach Wilson at No. 2. That leaves the 49ers picking among Alabama’s Mac Jones, Ohio State’s Justin Fields and North Dakota State’s Trey Lance. Lynch thinks there’s a franchise quarterback in that group.