The 49ers sent their 2022 first-round pick to the Dolphins in March of 2021 when they traded up to No. 3 in that year’s draft. Miami then moved that pick to the Kansas City Chiefs when they acquired WR Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs then swapped with the Patriots to move up in the first round, and New England wound up using the No. 29 pick to take center Cole Strange.
This probably isn’t the way the 49ers would’ve utilized the selection with a handful of defensive ends and defensive backs on the board who projected as first-round talents.
However, with Alex Mack’s future hanging in the balance, the 49ers might’ve been smart to take a center with their top selection. Strange and Nebraska’s Cam Jurgens both would’ve made sense if they picked 29th.
So far two of the four picks they’ve moved to take Trey Lance have been used. Last year the Cowboys wound up with the 12th pick and took Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons. This year Strange went No. 29.
The remaining picks are No. 102 this year which still belongs to Miami, and their first-round pick next year.
