Insider projects shocking Brandon Aiyuk trade in final mock draft prediction

In the wake of the major wave of NFL free agency, it seemed that the next big domino to drop could be the San Francisco 49ers trading wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk as he looks for a contract extension with little progress being made. But leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, it then seemed like we could be trending toward that being all smoke and no fire with the Niners saying outwardly that they didn't plan to move on from Aiyuk.

But now the 2024 NFL Draft is just over 24 hours away from commencing on Thursday night. With that comes NFL insiders dropping their last bits of nuggets and some compiling their intel into mock drafts. Subsequently, it's starting to look like an Aiyuk trade might be back on the table, just not to the previously rumored or even likely suitors.

While the Pittsburgh Steelers were a common landing spot for an Aiyuk trade (and a logical one at that), the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars have reportedly emerged as possible suitors. In addition to that, though, NFL insider Benjamin Allbright dropped his one mock draft for KOA in Denver and iHeart Radio.

In said mock draft, he has the Jaguars indeed pulling off the trade to land Aiyuk in a deal that is shocking both for the destination of the wide receiver and, even more so, the return for the 49ers.

Brandon Aiyuk traded to Jaguars in insider's shocking NFL mock draft prediction

Here's a look at the trade that Allbright proposed in his predictive mock draft:

In addition to moving up 14 spots in the first round to swap Top 32 picks with the Jaguars, the 49ers only get a fourth-rounder in return. That feels like it could be a little lopsided in favor of Jacksonville, but given Allbright's intel, it could still be something close to that in order to get the deal across the finish line.

As for the ramifications of such a trade in the draft itself, the trade up to the No. 17 pick sees the 49ers then select LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in the mock draft. After moving down and with Aiyuk in tow, the Jaguars then select Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins at No. 31 in order to bolster a lacking secondary.

The Jaguars have routinely been mentioned as a team that could still use a wide receiver, even after signing Gabe Davis in free agency. The room of Davis, Christian Kirk and Zay Jones could use a No. 1 option and Aiyuk has looked more than capable of taking on that type of workload. So in that light, this type of trade would certainly make sense.

What this really comes down to, however, is if the 49ers deem the contract extension talks with Aiyuk untenable at this point. The draft is their best chance to mine the most value from a potential trade if that's the case, which would make Allbright's forecast for such a deal that much more likely.

In what's already shaping up to be a chaotic draft, Aiyuk being moved would throw an entirely different wrinkle into the proceedings.