2011 NFL Draft: The 49ers Should Trade Up, Just Not in the 1st Round

The 49ers have a league-high 12 draft picks heading into the draft. They can't cash them in for any player trades, but it is almost certain they will be making multiple moves in the draft. Given that they don't need more picks, it seems likely they will move up.

The NFL draft value chart determines the worth of any given pick by giving it a tangible quantitative value. While the 49ers could throw in a second-round pick and move up a few spots in the first round, they should still be able to land a guy they want at a position of need.

The New England Patriots hold the 33rd spot, where a number of quarterback-starved teams will want to move up to. The 49ers have more to work with, given their number of picks. The Patriots constantly move around on draft day, so don't be surprised if the 49ers gun for a quarterback with this pick.

The value at 33 is 580. The 49ers currently hold the 45th pick, which has a value of 450. In order to move up, the 49ers will need to kick in picks with a combined total of 130 to make up for the difference.

Rather than throwing in multiple fourth-round picks and an additional late-round pick, it makes more sense for the 49ers to move down in the third round. The 49ers hold the 76th pick, where the value is 210 and the Patriots hold the 92nd pick, where the value is 132.

That brings the value discrepancy down to 52, which is a much more manageable number than 130. The 49ers hold the 115th pick, which holds a value of 64. Unfortunately, the Patriots don't have a pick that brings a value of 12.

They do hold the 159th pick, which is worth 27.8. The 49ers have the 190th pick (that they received for Kentwan Balmer). It holds a value of 15.4 and makes this trade just about even. Thanks Balmer.

Now that the unnecessarily confusing math part is out of the way, why would the 49ers want to trade up in the second round? For starters, they need a quarterback and there will be plenty who fit the scheme and slip.

Jake Locker, Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick, Ryan Mallett and Christian Ponder could all be available here.

If Jim Harbaugh falls in love with one of them, the 49ers can't sit around and wait for him to fall to them when they select in the second round. There are a slew of teams who are likely to begin plucking the second-tier quarterbacks off the board just before the 49ers draft.

It is unclear whether or not the 49ers will see their quarterback of the future on the board here. Regardless, they can't escape the first two rounds without a quarterback unless they see their guy falling to them in the third round.

Signing 12 picks is unrealistic. The 49ers need to move up and the 33rd pick in the draft seems like the perfect place for them to jump to.