The 49ers already pocketed their first big win of 2018 when they signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a long-term deal.
Now the Niners can get win No. 2 on Friday.
That’s the day the NFL will conduct a coin toss between the 49ers and Raiders to determine the ninth pick in April’s NFL draft. The 49ers and Raiders each finished 6-10 in 2017 (with comparable strength of schedule), so the coin flip will determine their draft position in the first round.
The flip will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis , the site of the NFL combine, the annual testing ground for the league’s top college prospects, reported Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
As Wagoner noted, 49ers general manager John Lynch has joked that he’s been prepping for the coin flip.
“I’m going to practice all offseason,” he said. “I’m talking to our analytics guys. I’m hearing it’s 50-50.”
If the 49ers win the flip to pick No. 9 overall, San Francisco and Oakland will alternate between the ninth and 10th spots in later rounds of the draft (although the Patriots have the 49ers’ second-rounder from the Garoppolo trade but San Francisco has the Saints’ pick in that round at No. 59 overall).
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Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, who covers the 49ers, noted recently that the two teams also had a coin flip in 2006 to determine the sixth and seventh picks. At that time, the Niners won and took tight end Vernon Davis with the sixth choice. At No. 7, the Raiders selected safety Michael Huff.
