The San Francisco 49ers earned themselves a small bump up in draft capital when they agreed to trade running back Jordan Mason to the Minnesota Vikings.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the deal includes a sixth-round pick swap. Mason and the 187th overall pick will go to Minnesota. San Francisco will receive the 160th overall pick.
Here’s their updated list of picks in this year’s draft:
Round 1, Pick 11Round 2, Pick 43Round 3, Pick 75Round 3, Pick 100 (compensatory)Round 4, Pick 113Round 4, Pick 138 (compensatory)Round 5, Pick 147 (via Washington via New Orleans)Round 6, Pick 160 (via Minnesota)Round 7, Pick 227 (via Carolina)Round 7, Pick 249 (compensatory)Round 7, Pick 252 (compensatory)
Mason, who led the 49ers in rushing last year, was due to make $5,346,000 fully guaranteed with San Francisco this season. That would have made him the 18th highest-paid RB in football, but he likely would have been behind Christian McCaffrey on the depth chart. It’s not out of the question second-year RB Isaac Guerendo would pass him on the depth chart.
The trade makes sense for the 49ers in a vacuum, but Mason was a productive running back in a backfield that dealt with a ton of injuries last season. That’s a steep price to pay to jump up 27 spots late on Day 3 of the draft.
