Trading down might be more appealing to the 49ers in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Pro Football Focus thinks a trade-up is in order.
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch is no stranger to draft-day trades, and with a current crop of 11 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, the ability to move around the board later this April is certainly on the table.
However, in light of the Niners’ exodus of talent this offseason, stockpiling more picks via trade-downs sure seems like the more plausible alternative. After all, obtaining more proverbial “darts” to toss at the big board with the intent on hitting on more mid-round talent seems like a smart move.
That said, Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman feels as if San Francisco bucks this convention, opting to trade up from No. 11 overall to land a player it truly loves.
Interesting.
49ers trade up to land Armand Membou in Pro Football Focus’ latest mock draft
The 49ers need plenty of defensive line help this offseason, but Wasserman’s latest Round 1 mock draft suggests the Niners table that need in favor of long-term help for the offensive line.
Wasserman’s projected target is Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou, who has shown up on a few different mocks for the Niners in recent weeks.
As for the trade to land Membou, San Francisco sends off pick Nos. 11 and 100 overall to the Carolina Panthers to leap to No. 8 overall, bypassing the New Orleans Saints, whom Wasserman likely felt were honing in on Membou:
“The 49ers move up three spots to get ahead of New Orleans and take Membou. He’s a perfect scheme fit for Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Membou played the ninth-most outside-zone run snaps at Missouri in 2024 while posting an excellent 80.7 PFF run-blocking grade. He joins Dominick Puni to form a potentially dominant right side of San Francisco’s offensive line.”
Regarding the need, it’s hard to argue. There aren’t quite as many offensive tackles in this year’s draft, while the depth of D-linemen allow the 49ers to find talent in the later rounds. And despite the Niners having their starting O-line penciled in for 2025, with Trent Williams and Colton McKivitz as the bookends, grabbing a long-term Williams replacement and a possible day-one upgrade over McKivitz isn’t the worst idea ever.
The trade-up, however, is a little strange.
Sure, San Francisco dished out only a late third-round pick to make the deal work. But, considering the strength of this year’s class is generally seen from the middle of Round 1 through the early stages of Round 4, losing out on yet another pick there seems detrimental, particularly when accounting for the 49ers’ many needs.
Of course, should such a trade and selection happen, and Membou becomes a Williams-like clone, no one would fault the deal.
