Cleveland Browns shocked the league a few weeks ago when they managed to trade for New York Giants’ superstar wideout Odell Beckham jr.. But, as it turns out, they were not the only team trying to get the 26-year-old Pro Bowler as San Francisco 49ers tried to get in on the fun as well.
The 49ers general manager John Lynch recently talked with KNBR about his team’s efforts to get Beckham and revealed that the trade failed because Giants demanded San Francisco’s No.2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
“I think, ironically, the fact that we had the No. 2 pick made it more difficult because they wanted that badly,” – said Lynch. “They wanted two No. 1s. And we weren’t willing to part with that. It was too valuable of a pick.”
Lynch’s comments were also backed by the 49ers’ owner Jed York, who said that the organization didn’t think they are getting enough in return for such a high pick in the draft.
“We were definitely in it,” – said York. “We were aggressive. But I think (the Giants) wanted different things than we had to offer. I think it would have been very hard for us to just give up a first-round pick and not get a ton in return, other than just the player, knowing that the second pick in the draft is a very, very valuable pick.”
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, San Francisco 49ers did offer the Giants an opportunity to swap No.2 pick for their No.6 pick as part of the Odell Beckham trade but the two sides couldn’t agree on the rest of the package.
Cleveland Browns ended up using this to get Beckham by offering package that included 2019 first-round pick (17th overall) and the 2019 third-round selection (95th overall) alongside safety Jabrill Peppers.
