5 Realistic Trade Partners for the San Francisco 49ers in 2015 NFL Draft

San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke is known for being one of the better manipulators of the NFL draft board and is regularly among the movers and shakers in terms of trades. This year is likely to be no different, and there are a number of teams sure to be on the phone with Baalke come April 30.

There has already been talk of the Niners trading up from their spot at No. 15 in the first round, with B/R's Matt Miller indicating that San Francisco is keen on ascending the board to grab one of the top receivers in the class in Amari Cooper.

While Cooper would significantly boost the Niners' strength in depth at wideout and give them a prospective future No. 1 receiver, it is just as plausible that Baalke opts to trade back in the first round in order to stockpile some extra picks in the later rounds and fill a list of needs extended by the unexpected retirements of Patrick Willis and Chris Borland and the departures of key players such as Mike Iupati and Chris Culliver. 

But who are the leading candidates to do business with the 49ers come draft day? Here I look at five franchises who are likely to be in the mix to execute a trade with Baalke in the first round. 

Washington Redskins

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Could new Washington Redskins GM Scot McCloughan's first move in dictating his team's draft plans be to pull off a deal with his former team? There is evidence to suggest that he might.

Washington owns the No. 5 pick in the first round but has multiple needs to address after a dreadful 2014 season in which the Redskins went 4-12. Pass-rusher, defensive back and offensive line help—particularly at the tackle spot—should all be on the agenda for Washington in the 2015 draft, and some have already suggested that the Redskins could move back to add to their seven picks.

NFL Media's Ian Rapoport has previously hinted that the Redskins could be open for business for teams looking to get into that top five to bring in Oregon quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.

But, given Miller's claims regarding the Niners' interest in Cooper, it is possible that San Francisco may also be looking to jump into the Redskins' spot. Former Alabama star Cooper will likely not make it outside the top five, and a trade with Washington could be enough to see the 49ers acquire him or West Virginia's Kevin White and substantially bolster their passing attack.

Baalke would have to give up a lot in order to get to No. 5, but such a move to get Cooper or White is likely to pacify those fans looking for the Niners to make a splash following a disappointing offseason.

Any prospective deal will probably hinge on whether the top pass-rushers in the draft, Vic Beasley and Dante Fowler, are off the board and whether Washington views Shane Ray or any of the offensive linemen or corners in the class as top-five picks. If not, then it would be no surprise to see McCloughan reach an agreement with his former employers.

Baltimore Ravens

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

The 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens have become quite familiar with each other in recent years. Since fighting out an extremely entertaining Super Bowl eventually won by the Ravens, the Niners have taken both of the starting wide receivers that lined up for Baltimore in that game, acquiring Anquan Boldin in a trade in 2014 and signing Torrey Smith this offseason.

And it is quite possible the two could thrash out a trade on draft day.

Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome has plenty of room to maneuver this year with the Ravens holding 10 draft picks, and he will obviously be keen to fill the void left by Smith and Pernell McPhee, who departed in free agency to join the Chicago Bears and left the Ravens needing help in the pass-rushing department.

Newsome is well-known for not wanting to give up draft picks; however, with the Ravens likely in the market for added depth at receiver and edge-rusher, it is no surprise to see him admitting in a press conference that he is open to a trade up from pick No. 26.

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What we'll do is we'll value the board, we'll watch it very closely and as we get close to our pick if there's somebody we really covet, then we'll go get him. If someone that near the end of the first round is probably in our Top 8 or 10 has slid down our board, then it would probably be for that reason. The value of picking someone in the 20s, where we would have been picking in the top-10, we'd be happy to have him. So, that is probably the reason why we would move up to get a guy.

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The Ravens have picked from their original spot in the first round on only three occasions in the last seven years and are a team that is perhaps just a couple of players away from making it back to the Super Bowl in 2015.

Newsome talks about trading up to grab a player who slides into the 20s, but if one of the top-tier guys he values highly is set to be available at 15, then it would be unrealistic not to expect the Ravens GM to at least discuss the possibility of offloading some extra picks to Baalke and the Niners in order to swap places in the first round.

Detroit Lions

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The Detroit Lions figure to be looking to address the defensive line and cornerback early in the 2015 draft.

There is good enough depth in this year's D-line class for the Lions to stand pat and boost their depth in the trenches following the departure of Ndamukong Suh in free agency. If the Lions see cornerback as the No. 1 priority, however—and there is good reason for them to do so—then they will need to consider trading up with only two real top-tier prospects at the position in Trae Waynes and Marcus Peters.

In the 2015 corner class there is a drop-off in talent after Waynes and Peters, and the Lions are likely to need a corner to come in and contribute right away—despite the signing of Josh Wilson—due to the significant injuries Bill Bentley and Nevin Wilson suffered.

Bentley will come into the 2015 season off an ACL injury, while Lions GM Martin Mayhew admitted to reporters at the combine that Nevin Wilson has "a lot to overcome" in order to recover from a foot problem.

Waynes and Peters look to be the two corners most capable of making an instant impact as rookies, but it's far from certain whether either will be available at No. 23. It is fair to assume, though, that one of the pair will still be on the board at No. 15.

Having already traded a couple of mid-round picks to the Ravens to acquire Haloti Ngata in the offseason, the Lions do not have much wiggle room in terms of price, but the opportunity to add a top-level corner talent to a defense that was one of the best in the NFL last season could be too good to pass up for Mayhew.

The deal would make sense from the Niners' perspective as well in spite of their need at corner. Baalke has rarely opted to address the position in the first round, and a move back eight spots would still allow him to add one of the better wide receivers in the draft or allow him to address one of the needs at inside linebacker, defensive line or edge-rusher.

For a general manager who loves to stockpile picks and build his team through the draft, Baalke may find the Lions to be willing negotiators should he choose to add to his haul of nine selections.

Kansas City Chiefs

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

In his latest mock draft, Chris Trapasso of CBSSports.com has the Kansas City Chiefs striking a deal with the 49ers to move up three spots from No. 18 and select wide receiver Breshad Perriman, with San Francisco receiving an extra third-round pick in addition to the Chiefs' first-round selection, which he has Baalke using to select cornerback Kevin Johnson.

Such a move may seem unrealistic given that the Chiefs signed Jeremy Maclin in free agency following his impressive 2014 season with the Philadelphia Eagles; however, Kansas City has three additional picks this year and could use as much help at receiver as it can get on the back of a campaign in which quarterback Alex Smith failed to throw a touchdown to a wideout.

The Chiefs have little at receiver outside of Maclin and another former Eagle in the form of Jason Avant. And for a team that narrowly missed out on the playoffs last term, better options in the passing game are a must.

San Francisco, of course, has history of doing business with the Chiefs, having traded Smith to Kansas City back in 2013. For the cost of a move back just three spots, it is tough to see Baalke rejecting the chance to obtain an extra pick and potentially fill another need with an astute move that would only slightly affect the Niners' position in the first round.

Chicago Bears

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Following their dreadful 2014 season, it seems difficult to envisage the Chicago Bears giving up the No. 7 pick in the draft. They have needs on both sides of the ball, but the coaching changes they have undergone in the offseason make them a strong candidate to trade back through a deal with a Niners team potentially aiming to move up and grab one of the better receivers in the class.

Chicago could also use a wideout after trading away Brandon Marshall to the New York Jets, but the bigger need is on defense, which former San Francisco coordinator Vic Fangio is remodeling to a 3-4 unit.

Defensive linemen who can played the 5-technique and dynamic pass-rushers are sure to be high on the Bears' list of priorities as a result.

And—although they could easily take one of the premier pass-catchers, edge-rushers or interior D-linemen with pick No. 7—it would arguably make more sense, as CBS Chicago's Greg Gabriel points out, for a team undergoing an overhaul with just six selections in the draft to drop back to a spot like 15, where there are still likely to be top players at those positions available, and acquire extra choices to fill holes.

Just as with any potential deal with Washington, a trade with the Bears to get to No. 7 would put the Niners in a prime position to snag one of the top two pass-catchers in the draft or significantly boost their defense by bringing in one of the most promising pass-rushers.

San Francisco, despite picking much lower than usual in 2015, has the quality on the roster to be confident in the players it has and consider a trade up. Although the Bears beat the Niners in 2014, Chicago GM Ryan Pace may feel uncomfortable just standing pat as he seeks to rebuild the team for new head coach John Fox. A call to Baalke on draft day would not be the worst idea.

Nicholas McGee is a San Francisco 49ers Featured Columnist based in Leeds, England. Follow him on Twitter @nicholasmcgee24.