Report: 49ers Willing to Trade Deebo Samuel/Brandon Aiyuk to Move up in Round 1

Don't be surprised if the 49ers move up in the first round of the NFL draft tonight at the cost of either Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk.

Sep 10, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receivers Deebo Samuel (19) / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Trade scenarios involving Brandon Aiyuk have been nonstop this offseason.

And now Deebo Samuel is joining him in one. The San Francisco 49ers are willing to trade Samuel or Aiyuk in order to move up in the first round of the NFL draft tonight, per Dianna Russini of The Athletic.

This is significant news considering Samuel had been reportedly reassured by the 49ers earlier this week that he will remain on the team in 2024. So, either the 49ers are going against their word or the report was flimsy.

Either way, it makes total sense for the 49ers to be willing to part ways with either of their two tremendous starting wide receivers. It is the cost of doing business when it comes to moving up in the first round of the NFL draft.

And it is one that is worth it for the 49ers. The ideal scenario is that the 49ers can move up a considerable amount of spots in the first round at the cost of Samuel. Aiyuk is the player I am sure the 49ers would prefer to keep.

His game is meant to sustain for the long-term as opposed to Samuel who really had an outlier season in 2021. That version of himself is likely never to return. All Samuel does is have a stretch of games in the season where he looks elite and that is it. Not to mention he is an injury risk all the time.

Aiyuk is also better for Brock Purdy than Samuel, so for the 49ers' sake, hopefully they can get a team to take Samuel and not Aiyuk. This is all a big IF for the 49ers. Samuel doesn't have an appealing contract to take on, and Aiyuk will be due for a lucrative extension.

Ultimately, I don't see a trade coming to fruition involving either receiver, but at least it has made day one of the NFL draft increasingly intriguing.