The 49ers have said nothing about whether they will grant receiver Deebo Samuel’s request for a trade. If they will, and if they’re lining up a deal for the All-Pro wideout, there’s a very good reason to wait.
If the 49ers will be acquiring a 2022 first-round pick as part of the compensation package, the 49ers should keep any word of that transaction completely quiet until the selection is on the clock. For example, if the Jets will be sending the 10th overall pick (and more) to the 49ers for Samuel, it will be much better for the 49ers to not slide into that spot at a time when they could be leapfrogged by a team with a lower spot that guesses right about the 49ers’ plans for that pick.
That approach requires discretion. It requires trust. It requires a commitment to full cooperation by everyone involved, in order to ensure that the rest of the league doesn’t know that the 49ers will be securing a pick until the time comes for that pick to be used.
So don’t be surprised if you hear nothing more about a possible Deebo trade for the next week, and if it happens all of a sudden next Thursday night, as one of the inevitable surprises that will happen during the first round of the draft.