Here’s how the Jimmy Garoppolo trade impacts the rest of the NFL
By Josh Hill
The 2018 NFL Draft Just Shifted
The biggest ripple effect from the Garoppolo trade reaches beyond the NFL. San Francisco is in line for a Top-3 draft pick this year, and now it doesn’t need to draft a quarterback. That means the possibility of seeing Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson, or Josh Rosen play for the Niners is null.
As it stands now, the Niners would have the No. 2 pick. That should change though since even before the Garoppolo trade San Francisco was good enough to win a few games this year. The Jets, Chargers, and Cardinals (all Top-10 teams in the Draft at the moment) are candidates to trade up for whoever the Browns pass on at No. 1. This puts San Francisco in the desirable position of being able to choose between taking someone with their pick or trading it and picking up another first next year.
It also means that the Giants, Jets, Chargers, and Cardinals can stand pat and watch quarterbacks that otherwise might have been drafted fall into their lap. There’s now a very real chance that the Giants go on the clock at No. 3 with Sam Darnold on the board — something that wasn’t the case a few hours ago.
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Say the Niners stay put and don’t trade down. Could you imagine if this trade ends up being Jimmy G and Saquon Barkley for a second-round pick to New England? Minkah Fitzpatrick and Harold Landry will be ripe for the picking, as would a handful of offensive lineman. This trade does more than just give the Niners a quarterback for the future, it sets up the foundation for their entire future. It’s just a matter of what Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch decide to do with it.