SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer was the only quarterback to go off the board before the San Francisco 49ers were on the clock in the third round Friday night. With two picks at the top of that round, the Niners found themselves with the pick of the rest of the quarterbacks and only four of them previously selected.
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The 49ers did eventually move back late into the third round to take Iowa quarterback C.J. Beathard to fill a developmental role, but he's unlikely to be the long-term answer. Earlier in the round, after filling a need with Colorado cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon with the first of two picks, the Niners passed on the available quarterback options. In fact, they passed on everyone. Instead, they dealt the No. 67 overall pick to the New Orleans Saints for a 2018 second-round pick and a seventh-round choice this year.
"When you get offered a second-round pick in next year's draft and now all of a sudden we have a first, two twos and two threes next year," general manager John Lynch said. "There were players we liked, but that and a seventh-round pick in this year's draft, we just felt like that was a really enticing offer. We've got a couple of fours, couple of fives, so we've got a lot of picks with a lot of players left that we like, so that was what went into our decision there."
That move likely will slide under the radar as just another transaction on the wire Saturday morning, but it actually means much more for the long-term future of the Niners. Combined with the deal the Niners made with the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, they now own extra picks in the second and third rounds in the 2018 draft.
Why does that matter other than simply having more access to fairly valuable draft capital? The Niners have positioned themselves to land their franchise quarterback in 2018.
"I think that's in the back of your mind," Lynch said. "I think there's multiple ways that we'll continue to explore to continue to improve at that position. I've said many times we're happy with what we have here with Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley, and the first two days on the field gave us a strong indication that it's a really good system fit. They understand, they are both good play-action passers and I think that fits into what we're doing.
"I think we're getting a lot of ammunition to go acquire players, either by drafting them or ... it gives us some flexibility to do a lot of things."
What that looks like remains to be seen but consider the options, all of which clearly were more appealing to San Francisco than drafting a quarterback in the first or second round this year and hoping he becomes the long-term solution.
Since his name will continue to be connected to the Niners until he signs a long-term contract elsewhere, let's start with Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. The fit in a reunion with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is obvious, and Cousins almost certainly would be willing to sign with the Niners. But if the Redskins find a way to continue controlling his rights next year via a tag, the 49ers now have extra picks to deal for him. The same is true of New England quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
And what if Garoppolo and Cousins aren't available and the Niners perform too well to find themselves in position to draft a top prospect such as USC's Sam Darnold, Wyoming's Josh Allen or UCLA's Josh Rosen? Again, having extra picks means the Niners might not have to mortgage their future if they find themselves having to make a bold move up the draft order to land their quarterback.
From the moment Shanahan and Lynch arrived in the Bay Area, they made it clear they are viewing things with a wide-angle lens, but they also know they have to move on a possible franchise quarterback relatively soon. It's not happening this year but they can't afford to wait until year three. Which makes next offseason critical.
And it isn't lost on the Niners that other teams around the league also are positioning themselves to chase potential franchise quarterbacks. The Cleveland Browns, who easily could be competing for a top quarterback again next year, own extra first- and second-round picks in 2018. The Buffalo Bills, another quarterback-needy team, also have an extra first-round pick.
As always, the competition for top quarterbacks will be fierce in 2018 and it's entirely possible that the options will have far more appeal than any group at the position in a long time. It's an arms race and the moves the 49ers have made in the first two days of this year's draft are a sure sign they know it's already begun.
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