It appears the 49ers are set to acquire a quarterback at some point in this year’s draft. Even if they’re not aiming for a long-term starter, they need to find an adequate backup for Jimmy Garoppolo. There’s a scenario where they don’t draft a quarterback, but instead use a pick to acquire one in a trade. A mock draft at Pro Football Focus executes this move for San Francisco.
In this PFF mock, the 49ers deal the No. 12 overall pick to Miami for second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after the Dolphins took Ohio State’s Justin Fields with the third overall selection they acquired from the Texans in the Laremy Tunsil trade.
It’s not an out-of-nowhere acquisition. This mock has three quarterbacks going in the first three picks and five going in the top nine. Given the 49ers’ bevy of needs, it’s hard to see them parting with a ton of draft capital to move up and snag a signal caller in the event the market for them is hyper-competitive early in the draft.
A swap of the No. 12 pick for a 23-year-old former top-five selection who’s accurate in all three levels of the passing game makes a lot of sense if the 49ers are prioritizing the position that highly in this year’s draft.
However, there’s a large question mark around whether Tagovailoa is the signal caller they’d spend the No. 12 pick on. He went 6-3 in nine starts for the Dolphins as a rookie this season. His numbers weren’t super impressive with a 64.1 percent completion rate, 6.3 yards per attempt, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. There’s also the fact he was benched multiple times in favor of journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Dolphins’ organization has put their support behind Tagovailoa and his future development, but it would be easy to see how the 49ers might be wary of taking on that project when they’re ready to contend for Super Bowls.