Three Players 49ers can Trade for Draft Capital

These are the trades 49ers can make to gain extra draft capital and buy wiggle room in terms of cap space.

The San Francisco 49ers will begin the new league year short of resources with which to retool their roster.

San Francisco is set to start 2020 just $18.6million under the salary cap.

Additionally, the 49ers have just one pick in the first four rounds of a draft. The 49ers' roster is in extremely good shape, but there are positions on both sides of the ball they will need to address.

As it stands, the Niners do not have the means to make the necessary improvements in those areas. However, there are trades they can make to gain extra draft capital and buy wiggle room in terms of cap space.

Here we look at three players they should consider trading to gain more capital.

Salary cap information courtesy of Spotrac.

WR Marquise Goodwin

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Goodwin's name has cropped up in trade discussions. Parting with him would make sense given he is owed over $10million over the final two seasons of his contract and his role in the offense is only likely to decline.

Though he is only 29 and offers a field-stretching option the Niners do not otherwise possess, Goodwin will likely struggle for targets in the coming years. Deebo Samuel should continue to be a focal point of the offense, Kendrick Bourne has earned the trust of Jimmy Garoppolo and the Niners could yet look to re-sign Emmanuel Sanders and draft a wide receiver from an extremely deep class at the position.

Goodwin is still at a point in his career where he could command a day-three pick. Trading him could free up the cap space to allow the Niners to re-sign a more complete receiver in Sanders and address other areas. After a second successive season disrupted by injury, the timing is right for the 49ers to move on from Goodwin and save money and acquire some much-needed draft picks in the process.

WR Dante Pettis

Pettis, while in a different stage of his career to Goodwin, is in much the same situation. After spending the majority of the 2019 season in Kyle Shanahan's doghouse, the 2018 second-round pick may find himself way down the pecking order on the receiver depth chart.

Unlike Goodwin, Pettis is not a dynamic downfield weapon and – regardless of whether they stand pat at pick No. 31 or move down for more day-two picks – the Niners are likely to be able to draft a receiver with significantly higher upside.

San Francisco may be reticent to give up on Pettis after just two seasons. However, with his strong finish to 2018 still relatively fresh in the memory, they should be able to acquire decent compensation for him. If the Niners are determined to attain more picks in the 2020 draft, it may be wise to accept defeat with Pettis and move him on to pastures new.

WR Solomon Thomas

The 49ers have typically drafted well under Lynch and Shanahan, but the first round of their maiden draft in 2017 is looking like one to forget.

Reuben Foster proved a colossal miss as the 49ers were forced to release him in 2018 after a series of off-field issues. Thomas, taken 28 spots earlier, has provided little reason to suggest he deserves being kept on the roster.

Thomas has failed to make a consistent impact for a defensive line that has developed into arguably the premier front in the NFL. He has only six sacks in three seasons and, despite excelling as a run defender, has never nailed down a defined role.

The 49ers can save over $4m by getting the final year of Thomas' contract off the books. Teams have historically been willing to take shots on former first-rounders, so San Francisco should be hopeful of getting something in return for a player who hasn't come close to meeting expectations.