49ers Just Pulled Off the Greatest Smokescreen in NFL Draft History

The 49ers sure know how to keep a secret.

Since San Francisco traded up with the Miami Dolphins for the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Niners had the entire football world guessing on who they would select.

Some of the biggest NFL insiders — from ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen to NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah, Mike Silver and Peter Schrager and more — believed that the 49ers were going to select Alabama's Mac Jones.

I can’t wait for all these 49ers fans mad about Mac Jones reports to immediately start defending him on April 29.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April 7, 2021

"I would say 98% of the league believe the 49ers are taking Mac Jones."@mlombardiNFL and @TheWrapRadio take a look at the top #NFL Draft props including who Michel thinks the Falcons will select at #4! #LombardiLine pic.twitter.com/JHVXyRaLuf
— VSiN (@VSiNLive) April 15, 2021

.@MelKiperESPN says Mac Jones to the 49ers at No. 3 is "locked in right now" 👀 pic.twitter.com/yoM20TXAh0
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 13, 2021

Adam Schefter dropping on ESPN Radio this morning that he'd be shocked if Mac Jones wasn't the pick at 3 to the 49ers

Mac 3rd overall is +170 on FD
Mac to SF is +180 on Fox
— Anthony Amico (@amicsta) April 6, 2021

Kyle Shanahan had success with Matt Ryan and he and Mike Shanahan had a love for Kirk Cousins.
Agree with Simms here.
I see @MacJones_10 as the 49ers' pick and @treylance09 as the fallback.
That is mocking Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson as the first two picks. https://t.co/AMPs42OTLD
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) March 26, 2021

.@PSchrags hasn't moved off of Mac Jones to SF at 3.

"They haven't made a final decision yet. But with that roster, coach, this specific prospect & his skill set-I'm not ready to turn on this one. Since the day they made the trade, this has made too much sense to me."-@PSchrags pic.twitter.com/8vujqeDfxj
— GMFB (@gmfb) April 22, 2021

49ers-Dolphins...Kyle Shanahan trying to control his own fate. You trade up to 3 for a QB who is NFL-ready right now, not a project. And to me that says Mac Jones.
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) March 26, 2021

3) It is my belief that the player the Niners were targeting when they made the trade--under the assumption that Lawrence & Wilson would go 1-2 to the Jags and Jets--was Alabama QB Mac Jones. (Obviously, you only make this move if you also are very high on Lawrence and Wilson)...
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 23, 2021

Chris Simms just told me he still believes that Mac Jones will be the #49ers pick at No. 3 and added "I'll be shocked if it's not."

New Talkin' #Seahawks Podcast coming soon...
— Joe Fann (@Joe_Fann) April 22, 2021

Kyle Shanahan values pocket presence, anticipation, decision-making and accuracy. Running ability is great, but not if there’s any trade-off with those traditional QB skills. That’s why I’m leaning Mac Jones at No. 3. If you want someone at that spot, you can’t take any chances.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) March 26, 2021

For the record, Lines never gave in to the rumors. We had the 49ers selecting Trey Lance in our mock draft for a while now.

Photo: Getty Images