New 49ers Trade Proposal Swaps Trey Lance for Fellow 2021 Draft Mate

Getty Trey Lance throws a sidearm pass on September 11, 2022 in Chicago.

Ideas continue to cloud the NFL stratosphere involving Trey Lance and if the San Francisco 49ers will pull off a trade, especially with the 2023 NFL Draft four days away. The chatter began with the report from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on Wednesday, April 19 that the Niners have fielded calls asking for the former No. 3 pick of the 2021 draft.

Already, there’s the thought of Lance heading to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans — the former pairing him with past first overall pick Baker Mayfield and the latter reuniting him with past 49ers DeMeco Ryans and Jimmie Ward. But there’s this new proposal presented by Heavy’s Austin Boyd on Sunday, April 23: Lance gets swapped for a fellow 2021 draft class mate: Safety Tre’Von Moehrig.

Yes, the safety the Raiders took over Talanoa Hufanga as the TCU star was the third safety taken in that class. Now, as Moehrig has struggled to find his footing in Sin City, there’s the new thought of pairing Moehrig and “Huf” together — which also relinks Lance with another certain Ex-49er in Jimmy Garoppolo.

“The Raiders could be an interesting team to watch. Garoppolo played with Lance for the past two seasons. They should have some rapport. Lance took Garoppolo’s job last year but he’d be the starter over the young quarterback this year. The Raiders selected safety Tre’von Moehrig in the second round of the same draft Lance was taken. He looked like a stud as a rookie but wasn’t a great fit in Patrick Graham’s defense,” Boyd wrote.

Moehrig Could Add Needed Element Next to Hufanga if Trade Were to Happen

Obviously, this would be a rare exchange between top 50 picks from the same draft class. Potentially more awkward is this: Moehrig being paired up with a class member who’s already showing he was the best safety from that draft year, as Hufanga already has a Pro Bowl appearance and two conference title game trips.

However, Boyd believes the Horned Frog could use a change of scenery and benefit from being next to Hufanga and new 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who’s a renown defensive back mind.

“The 49ers have a need at safety and Moehrig could be a better fit with them,” Boyd said. “The Raiders could offer San Francisco Moehrig and a third-round pick to land Lance. The 49ers get a player who could play immediately and a solid draft pick while the Raiders would get their developmental quarterback without having to use a first-round pick.”

A move like this would also prevent the 49ers from hoping a ball-hawking safety can fall to them after pick No. 98. Safety is considered a position of need following Ward’s departure. Moehrig was lauded for his range and ball skills before the draft by Lance Zierlein of nfl.com.

Moehrig would also have a great chance to add to his one career interception total by being on a defense featuring Hufanga, prized 2022 free agent signing Charvarius Ward, rising cornerback Deommodore Lenoir and new addition Isaiah Oliver — plus have the benefit of having a stacked defensive line in front of him.

49ers Could Still Turn to Another TCU Star

In the event there’s no trade between Lance and Moehrig, it may not necessarily end the potential of some TCU representation on the 49ers.

ESPN NFL draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay made this projection in their newest mock draft: TCU star Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson joins the 49ers at No. 102 overall.

It’s not the first time the nephew of NFL legend LaDanian Tomlinson has been linked to the 49ers. The 49ers got the versatile defensive back to work out in front of them at TCU’s Pro Day on March 30. He’s been lauded for his high-level production from 2022 including breaking up 18 passes during TCU’s run to the national title game.