49ers Draft Plans Haven’t Changed With Deebo Samuel’s Trade Request

Deebo Samuel’s trade request has taken the 49ers for a loop.

This whole standoff with him right now could have impactful implications on the 49ers’ draft plans.

Before the trade request, the 49ers could have been minimal on researching wide receivers. After the trade request, the 49ers could be forced to put a lot of energy into playing catch-up with researching wide receivers, even the prominent ones should they actually trade Samuel.

However, the draft plans of the 49ers haven’t changed despite Samuel’s trade request.

At his pre-draft presser on Monday, John Lynch was asked if the situation with Samuel has affected any draft plans.

“No, because we pride ourselves, and I think if you're doing your job right, you're going to be thorough," said Lynch. "And that does mean preparing for every possible situation. And so, we do that and you do that each and every year and this year is no different. I think that the only difference this year is just the volume of players, there's a lot.

"And so, I think talking to my counterparts throughout the league, everyone had their plan of, ‘okay, here's our draft meeting schedules.’ And everyone's kind of pushed on because of the volume of players and ours was no different. There were a couple extra days in there, but we allowed for that thinking that might be the case. And so that's the only difference this year, but we're prepared for each and every scenario.”

So the 49ers are conducting business as usual. Samuel's trade request doesn't put a damper on their draft plans. Saying that would coincide with their desire to retain Samuel despite his sights for greener pastures. There is no need to deviate from the draft plans when they do not plan on trading Samuel.

This is why a "king's ransom" is what it will take to trade Samuel. The 49ers have no reason or desire to trade Samuel. If they thought there was a scenario where they would trade him away, then they would've focused in some more on wide receivers or prominent prospects. Then again, they could have visits and meetings with those players under wraps that no one knows about.

Either way, Samuel's request comes at a time when their draft board is mostly finished. They could only key in on so many more prospects if Samuel being traded was a route they wanted to take.