On the Thursday morning leading to the draft, a report that the San Francisco 49ers were shopping their former first-round pick, Solomon Thomas, emerged courtesy of Pro Football Talk. Nothing came of that report.
Later that evening, after the 49ers selected defensive end Nick Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick, general manager John Lynch called the report inaccurate.
"It's not accurate," Lynch told reporters. "We usually don't respond to every one of these rumors that happens in today's world.
"I had Solly up in my office today, and we just talked exactly where he is. He's a big part of our team right now. We're extremely excited about moving forward with him."
It's unknown who Pro Football Talk's source was on the report, but one trusted 49ers beat writer also heard the same whispers coming out of Santa Clara. He decided against reporting the news because he could not find more than one source to confirm the rumor.
"I had heard the same thing, though I couldn't find more than one source to verify it. (With a story like that, you'd want at least two sources)," Matt Barrows wrote in a recent mailbag article for The Athletic.
Why would Barrows need multiple sources to confirm the story if Pro Football Talk had already reported the news from a source of their own? What if each's source was one and the same? Also, Barrows is one of the most trusted sources among the 49ers beat writers and would have likely wanted two sources of his own to confirm the rumor, regardless of what Pro Football Talk reported.
Barrows added, "If the 49ers indeed dipped their toe in the trade market and didn't like what they found, could they revisit the possibility later this year when other squads have a better idea of their own defensive line talent? Perhaps."
While nothing came of the report and the 49ers have since expressed confidence in Thomas, the team giving up on the current regime's first-ever draft pick would signal a significant failure. While San Francisco emerged from that 2017 draft with fifth-round selection George Kittle, it already missed on its other first-round selection, linebacker Reuben Foster, and running back Joe Williams in the fourth.
A lot of people are hoping Thomas eventually lives up to his No. 3 overall pick status because adding a second first-round selection to the list would be seen as a colossal blunder.
Several 49ers from that draft class went through sophomore slumps in 2018. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and safety Adrian Colbert struggled early last year after expectations were high following impressive rookie campaigns. Both eventually landed on injured reserve.
C.J. Beathard, a third-round selection, finds himself competing with Nick Mullens, an undrafted free agent, for the backup quarterback job on a roster that typically carries only two quarterbacks. Of course, the 49ers would be open to carrying three in 2019.
"Traditionally, we've been of the belief that you keep two because it allows you to do things with your roster," Lynch told reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. "But, never close the door on keeping three, either."
Then you have the 49ers' other fifth-round selection from that draft class, Trent Taylor, who experienced his own sophomore slump. His, however, was due to offseason back surgery and the recovery that followed. Of course, San Francisco used a second-round pick in each of the past two drafts to select a wide receiver and used a third-round selection this year to add another. That just seemingly pushes Taylor further down the depth chart.
Now, go read the rest of Barrows' mailbag article (assuming you subscribe) because he is always entertaining. He also mentions who might be a good general manager candidate should Lynch and Kyle Shanahan ever split.
