What will become of the Deebo Samuel situation in Santa Clara? Will the San Francisco 49ers end up trading their Swiss Army Knife wide receiver, as the player reportedly requested? Or will they hold onto Samuel and hope the relationship between team and player can be mended?
Maurice Jones-Drew released his latest mock draft, which only includes the first round. Typically, this would be of no interest to 49ers fans, as the team doesn't currently own a first-round pick. However, Jones-Drew projects that San Francisco will re-enter the first round after trading Samuel.
The trade partner is the Kansas City Chiefs, the team that beat them in the Super Bowl over two years ago. To acquire Samuel, the Chiefs send the 49ers the No. 29 overall pick, which ironically would have been the 49ers' selection if not for last year's trade to draft quarterback Trey Lance.
Jones-Drew also has Kansas City sending more to San Francisco but doesn't specify what the rest of the package might look like.
With the selection, the running back turned NFL Media analyst has the 49ers drafting wide receiver Treylon Burks out of Arkansas.
"Welcome to the first round, San Francisco. Nice of you to join us," wrote Jones-Drew. "I project the 49ers will occupy this spot after trading away Deebo Samuel to the Chiefs in exchange for one of their first-round picks (and more). With it, they nab Burks to immediately fill the void."
Burks (6-2, 225) registered 66 receptions for 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns through 12 game appearances as a junior in 2021, per Sports Reference. He also had 14 carries for 112 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown last season.
Burks, a junior, caught 146 passes for 2,399 yards with 18 touchdowns through his three collegiate seasons.