The 49ers have already filled one significant need ahead of the trade deadline, making a move that made perfect sense in reuniting with defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
San Francisco sent a fourth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts to bring back the player who was selected by the 49ers with the seventh overall pick in the 2016 draft.
That is a very reasonable price for a player who has four sacks and who was tied for 10th in pressures among defensive tackles entering Week 8.
But it leaves the 49ers
with limited capital with which to address their remaining issues as they plot a run at the Super Bowl.
In an ideal world, the 49ers would probably like to add another wide receiver and an edge rusher to their 53-man roster before the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
However, with only six picks remaining in the 2027 draft, they may not have the resources for another splash trade.
The 49ers still hold their first, second and third-round picks next year. They also have their fifth-round pick and a sixth-rounder acquired from the Baltimore Ravens and a seventh-rounder acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs.
San Francisco has put a lot of emphasis on getting younger in recent years, and each of their last three drafts have netted them players who have either established themselves as starters or made a significant impact playing in a rotation.
As such, the 49ers may be reluctant to use too many of their remaining 2027 selections in another trade, especially as they do not have the luxury of projected compensatory picks on which to fall back.
Of course, that does not necessarily prohibit the 49ers from making another move. Veteran edge Khalil Mack has been named as a potential target and, as a 35-year-old edge rusher on a 0-6 team in the final year of his contract, it likely would not take much to prise him from the Los Angeles Chargers.
But if the 49ers want to make a more eye-catching move by pursuing a wide receiver like Garrett Wilson or a dominant edge such as Maxx Crosby, it could cost them multiple first-round picks and several more selections in next year’s draft.
At 6-1 after a largely impressive effort on both sides of the ball through seven games, the 49ers look to be in a position to push their chips into the middle of the table with an all-in trade. However, they will be well aware of the risk of doing so, and the potential damaging knock-on effects of having limited draft picks if such a move does not work out.
By trading for Buckner, the 49ers have once again shown they are willing to do the deals to try to put the team over the top in the hunt that for that elusive sixth Super Bowl title. Yet the Niners also need to think carefully about the future and, given the position a blockbuster trade could put them in come next April, San Francisco’s next swing before the deadline may have to be more conservative than many will want.
