The 49ers will enter the 2020 NFL draft with only one pick in the first four rounds, and five picks over the final three rounds. It’s a pretty stark departure from years past where San Francisco typically went into drafts loaded with picks.
So where did all their picks go? And how did they get a couple of extra late-round picks? Here’s a quick refresher on where the 49ers’ 2020 draft picks went, and how they scooped up a couple additional selections.
Traded picks
Round 2, Pick 63: Traded to Chiefs
This one was actually traded prior to last year’s draft when the 49ers sent the selection to Kansas City in exchange for edge rusher Dee Ford. San Francisco then signed Ford to a five-year, $85 million deal with $33.35 million guaranteed.
While Ford dealt with injuries all year that forced him out of five games and limited him in several others, he still racked up 6.5 sacks and elevated the 49ers pass rush to an elite level when he was on the field. A healthy version of Ford in 2020 makes him well worth a second-round pick.
Round 3, Pick 95 and Round 4, Pick 127: Traded to Broncos
Acquiring Emmanuel Sanders was perhaps the move that ultimately put the 49ers into the Super Bowl. In order to snag the veteran receiver from the Broncos, they had to give up their third and fourth-round picks in 2019.
While it looks bleak in regards to draft capital, Sanders was a much-needed piece on a shallow 49ers receiving corps. He quickly became a go-to target for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and nearly gave them a late lead in the Super Bowl by winning on a deep post in the waning minutes.
Sanders is a free agent in 2020 and may wind up signing elsewhere, but trading for him pushed the 49ers over the hump and into the Super Bowl where they had a real shot to win it. That’s a trade every team would make every year.
Acquired picks
Round 5, Pick 139: Picked up in Sanders trade
The 49ers got an early fifth-round pick back in the Sanders deal. They essentially moved from the late fourth round to the middle of Round 5. Again, the Sanders trade would’ve been worth it without the additional draft compensation, but an early fifth-round pick is a nice chess piece for the 49ers to have if they want to maneuver around the board at all.
Round 7, Pick 195: Picked up in trade for LB Eli Harold
This pick would be easy to forget about since it was acquired in a trade that went down in August of 2018. Now the selection will convey nearly two years later.
Harold only needed to be on the Lions’ roster for four weeks in order for the conditional pick to convey. The linebacker played in 13 games for Detroit in 2018, which means the pick conveyed in the form of a 2020 seventh-round pick.
Getting anything back for Harold is a win for San Francisco. He wound up spending 2018 with the Lions, then signing with the Bills before promptly getting traded to the Eagles and released prior to the start of last season. Any extra draft capital is good for the 49ers this season, so they’ll take an early seventh-round selection.
