NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post mentions that he doesn’t know anyone he’s trusts in the league who thinks the Cardinals will use the No. 3 overall pick.

“They’re trading the pick and quarterbacks are going one, two, three, four,” a GM tells La Canfora.

“The third pick is up for sale. They’re moving that pick,” a personnel executive added regarding the Cardinals.

• A GM tells La Canfora that the Falcons, Lions, and Raiders are the teams to watch in a trade-up for No. 3 overall: “I think one of those teams ends up with Arizona’s pick.”
• As for WR DeAndre Hopkins, La Canfora says he “won’t be back in Arizona” and it’s possible he could factor into a trade involving the No. 3 pick or a separate deal altogether.
• La Canfora adds that Hopkins has a “bloated contract” and “limited interest” right now, but with Odell Beckham Jr off the market, it’s possible that things could pick up from here.

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll has already spoken with QB Geno Smith about the possibility of Seattle drafting a quarterback with the No. 5 pick. Smith said he’s on board if the team does take a guy early and will help mentor him in any way that he can.

“He knows what’s going on,” Carroll said, via The Athletic. “I thought that was an obvious demonstration of respect, understanding how he would look at it and how other guys have looked at it in the past. I told him what we were doing and what the idea was and what could happen. Just like Geno has done with everything, he was totally on board. If we get a guy, he’s going to take care of him and look after him. He gets it.”

Seahawks GM John Schneider added that the team also spoke with QB Drew Lock about the possibility of adding another quarterback in the spirit of transparency.

“Pete and I both had frank conversations with them and said, ‘We haven’t been in this spot for a long, long time so we can’t guarantee you that we won’t take a quarterback,‘” Schneider said. “You just put all the information on the table so everybody knows what they’re getting into and there’s no second guessing like, ‘What do they think about me?’”

Schneider said he likes watching quarterbacks throw at the combine due to the fact that it’s mostly off-script and they haven’t had time to establish timing with the receivers they’re throwing to.

“I like watching the quarterbacks at the combine because the timing is kind of jacked up, so they have to really be on it,” Schneider said. “The scripted stuff at the schools is cool. Are they leading it themselves or is a quarterback guy just taking them through it? How into it are they? How do they handle themselves? How are they with the receivers? It’s cool to see. You learn so much from it.”