John Lynch And The 49ers Must Trade The No. 2 Pick, Stockpile Assets

John Lynch and the San Francisco 49ers have a massive rebuilding project on their hands and the best way to accelerate that process would be to trade the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Last week, Lynch discussed having the draft’s second pick and what that meant, and he said he was willing to trade down if a favorable situation presented itself. He should be actively pursuing that option.

Last year, the Philadelphia Eagles traded up to No. 2 and landed quarterback Carson Wentz. In exchange for the second pick and a conditional fifth-round selection, the Cleveland Browns received Philadelphia’s first-, third-, and fourth-round selections in the 2016 draft, the Eagles’ first-rounder in 2017 and second-round pick in 2018. That’s a serious haul that, if used properly, could rapidly improve Cleveland’s disastrous roster.

If Lynch and the 49ers are serious about rebuilding what is currently an awful roster, they should be looking to move down the way the Browns did. Sure, they may not get the same kind of offer, but picking up a ton of picks in exchange for the second selection in a weak draft would be worth it in the long run. There is no sure-fire franchise quarterback in this draft, which should make the ecision easier. I’m sorry, but Deshone Kizer, Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson and Pat Mahomes are not worthy of a top five pick. On top of that, San Francisco has so many issues that adding a quarterback that high would be a waste anyway, since the team wouldn’t be able to surround him with high-quality pieces.

The path to a successful rebuild lies in allocating draft resources properly. While Lynch has no front office experience, even he has to know that. He needs to trade down, stockpile picks and use them to fill the numerous holes on your roster. That must to be the mantra of the 49ers in the lead up to the 2017 draft.

One top-five player isn’t going to change anything in San Francisco, but a huge infusion of young talent could.