tiggerpolice

Mock drafts are inundating the Internet and making their way into print, but the NFL has a way of turning those annual lists into a mockery by the time the first round is finished.

This year should be no different. Much like the days preceding the baseball trade deadline -- seriously, what fraction of those predicted swaps ever happens? -- each spring brings a slew of NFL Draft Day trade rumors that propel or drop teams in the order.

This year the rumor mill is in overdrive. The reason: There's no real consensus on who the Top 5 players will be and where they will land.

It is acknowledged that the Houston Texans have presented contract offers to both running back Reggie Bush and pass-rushing defensive end Mario Williams, hoping to leverage one franchise player against the other and sign their guy before Saturday.

The Texans don't want to pay a signing bonus exceeding the $24 million guaranteed the 49ers paid quarterback Alex Smith a year ago. Fair enough. A first-round quarterback typically gets the most up-front money, even if his success rate is less of a sure thing.

Despite recent revelations, as reported by Yahoo.com and the Miami Herald, that Bush's family possibly received free or below-market rent on an expensive San Diego-area home during his USC days, the Texans apparently still want him.

So Bush comes off the rumor list. For now.

Meanwhile, NFL agents and front-office folks also are busy spreading trade rumors, hoping they'll land in the paper and help their position.

Let's sort through some of the buzz concerning the local teams and see where it's headed. Or not.

-- Will the 49ers move up or down in the order, now that they have two first-round picks?

At this point, no. The 49ers already had the No. 6 overall selection and swung a pretty good deal last week to acquire Denver's 22nd overall choice in exchange for picks in the second (37) and third rounds (68) of this year's draft.

Coach Mike Nolan said as much last Friday. "We're staying open to most things," he said. "I don't know that anyone ahead of us is trying to go backward, but there's always the possibility."

The 49ers want two first-round picks because they badly need two instant starters out of this draft, at least one on offense and defense.

-- Will the Raiders move up to draft either quarterback Matt Leinart or Vince Young?

Unlikely, at this point. Despite persistent rumors that they have been in contact with the Saints (No. 2 overall) and the Jets (No. 4) as part of a three-way deal that would move them up to No. 2, two well-placed NFL sources have confirmed that the Raiders have not made specific inquiries to move up in the order and that they are content, for now, to stick with the No. 7 pick.

That's because it is entirely possible that either Leinart, Young or play-making safety Michael Huff from Texas -- all of whom are at the top of the Raiders' draft board -- will be available at the seventh spot.

That's assuming of course, that Tennessee (No. 3) doesn't draft Young.

Then again, the Titans, whose front office is furiously debating the merits of Leinart, Young and local lad Jay Cutler, may decide they cannot gamble that the scrambling Young will be game-ready by Week 1.

Tennessee, which needs a franchise quarterback to replace Steve McNair, may opt for the more polished Leinart or Cutler.

The three-way trade rumor has come out of New York. It goes like this:

The Saints and Jets would swap positions, allowing New Orleans to select Williams at No. 4. The Jets would then trade the No. 2 pick to the Raiders in exchange for the seventh selection, wide receiver Jerry Porter and additional picks, likely future choices. That move would allow the Raiders to pick either Leinart or Young.

Meanwhile, the Jets would draft offensive lineman D'Brickashaw Ferguson at No. 7, if the Packers haven't grabbed him at No. 5, then trade Ferguson's rights to the Saints.

This kind of multiple-team trade may be common in the NBA but rarely happens in the NFL. Plus, any trade involving Porter would immediately accelerate the remainder of the $7 million signing bonus he received last year.

How much stock would one NFL general manager put in this rumor?

"It's B.S.," the GM said flatly.

So is a lot of the draft stuff floating around right now.

Then again, an inventive mind, a specific agenda and the reward of mediocrity -- a Top 10 draft pick -- can make anything possible. Even in the NFL.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...PGCRIFFNG1.DTL

saintswhodi

It's totally BS. What EXACTLY would we get out of trading down with the Jets in this scenario? We move outof the kindness of our hearts? Total BS.

LKelley67

uh, check the posted threads dewd

saintswhodi

I checked THIS posted thread and THIS rumor is BS. Is this a scavenger hunt or something? I am responsing to the article posted in THIS thread.

BlackandBlue

from what I'm reading, the kindness would be on the part of the Jets. We would get Williams AND Ferguson? this scenario takes ALOT of liberties....

tiggerpolice

if we get those guys plus a cb in the 2nd rd. or lb i would love it

LKelley67

no whodi, i meant there have already been a couple of threads about this already. check before posting reruns i meant.

saintswhodi

Then you need to get up on that quote feature my friend. My apologies.

saintswhodi

Anybody wanna guess how much it would take for us to pay a top 5 and then top 10 pick? Yikes. Still BS. But why couldn't it be Hawk and Brick? lol

thib82

And we aren't even guaranteed to get ferguson. Its a hope that the packers dont draft him. What if they do pick D'Brick, then the jets pick hawk and trade hawk to us, but you can't forget about the 49er pick at #6. This just isn't making much sense. The jets get Porter and future picks, the Raiders get the second pick and the Saints get two picks in the top 7.