The San Francisco 49ers traded three first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins in order to move up from No. 12 to No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft. There were plenty of rumors that the 49ers were eyeing Mac Jones, but they ultimately took Trey Lance.

Now, in a very strange report from ESPN's Adam Schefter as the first Sunday of the NFL season hits, it's being put out there that one of the reasons San Francisco traded up to No. 3 was to beat the New England Patriots to Jones. But, again, the 49ers took Lance with the third overall pick and not Jones.

There was a lot of public backlash from 49ers fans when the Jones rumors started heating up. Still, it's hard to believe that would have swayed the front office from Jones to Lance. Perhaps they had been planning on picking Jones but became more interested in Lance over time and wound up deciding the North Dakota State product was their man. Or perhaps this is bogus.

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The Patriots wound up getting Jones anyway at No. 15, even without having to trade up. Jones has since beat out Cam Newton for the starting quarterback job in New England.

Meanwhile, Lance will start the 2021 season as Jimmy Garoppolo's backup. However, it seems as if Lance will get some opportunities as Kyle Shanahan tries out different looks, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see the young 49ers quarterback win the starting job relatively soon.

Whatever happens, this is a strangely timed report that makes little sense to be out there right as the season begins, but clearly somebody wants this story to stick around. We'll see if there's any follow up to this report or if everybody just moves on as these two rookie quarterbacks start their NFL careers.