ESPN analyst predicts 49ers, Cowboys NFL Draft trade for Amarius Mims

This is a fascinating prediction. The Dallas Cowboys will trade away their first pick in the NFL Draft to the 49ers, all so San Francisco can jump ahead of the Packers and draft an offensive tackle.

And that tackle is Amarius Mims. He’s a very raw, but super talented offensive lineman from Georgia. And he could be the fifth Bulldog offensive linemen selected in the first round over the past eight seasons.

We should say the predicted trade is coming from NFL Draft analyst Field Yates, who included the projection in his latest mock draft published earlier this week on ESPN.com. When the first round of the draft starts April 25, there should be a bevy of quarterbacks, offensive linemen and receivers selected. This is not the draft, at least early on, for defensive players.

So let’s set the NFL Draft table for this trade. The Cowboys select at No. 24, while the 49ers, courtesy of their Super Bowl berth, pick at No. 31. Notre Dame’s Joe Alt likely will be the first offensive lineman selected, with Yates penciling him in at No. 7 to the Titans.

By the time pick No. 24 comes around, six offensive linemen have come off the board. The 49ers know that the Packers want an offensive lineman at pick No. 25. So they jump the line and swing a deal with Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. Although the two teams are rivals dating back decades, they pulled off a trade last August. That’s when the 49ers sent quarterback Trey Lance, the No. 3 pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, to Dallas, for a fourth-round pick.

Mims may be too much of an NFL Draft project for most teams

Yates believes Mims is a perfect selection for San Fran. He explained the choice in his mock draft. Yates wrote:

Mims is 6-foot-8 and 340 pounds, and he has nearly 87 inches in wingspan and terrific footwork. He’s inexperienced with just 803 college snaps and eight starts, but after extending right tackle Colton McKivitz through 2024, San Francisco could afford to develop Mims this offseason and work him into the lineup as needed in Year 1. Mims would also be a potential succession plan to Trent Williams long term at left tackle.

Then Yates, in a teleconference with NFL writers, added more details as to why Mims will entice the 49ers to make a trade.

“He has an unbelievable set of physical tools,” Yates said. “It’s hard not to think that that guy is not going to be a first 25 or 26 overall pick.

But then there’s the lack of experience, which would scare teams selecting in the first round of the NFL Draft. But Yates explains it. “So if you’re a 49ers offensive coach, you’re probably saying to yourself, ‘we can hold the fort down until (Mims) is ready to go. … If it’s week six … great, if it’s week 18, fine. So he is kind of there for one of the few teams that can afford to be a little bit more patient than the others.”

Yates doesn’t believe the Cowboys can afford to be patient with an offensive tackle prospect like Mims. Because Dallas has a “glaring need at left tackle. They need someone that can play right now,” he said.

Remember, the three-day NFL Draft starts April 25. If you’d like to catch up on all the draft news from On3, click it here.