49ers' Brock Purdy has same trade value as Fred Warner, according to ESPN

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The San Francisco 49ers are heading into the 2026 NFL season as a top Super Bowl contender, even in a tough NFC West with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams.

Hopefully, they can get full seasons from their top stars. Nick Bosa missed most of the season last year due to an ACL injury, while Fred Warner also missed most of the season. Brock Purdy was out for a while, though he came back, unlike Bosa and Warner.

Those are the three most valuable players on the 49ers roster, according to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, but he strangely projected Purdy's trade value to be the same as Warner's. Despite the massive positional value difference, Purdy is the same value as Warner.

Brock Purdy has same trade cost as Fred Warner

"One first-round pick: QB Brock Purdy, LB Fred Warner," Barnwell projects. This is a strange projection from Barnwell for a few reasons.

The biggest issue is the huge difference in inherent value for a quarterback versus an off-ball linebacker. QB's are much more valuable than LB's, and it would be strange for a linebacker to be worth more than a QB.

It would take a truly elite LB to be worth close to what a starting QB should go for. As good as Warner is, and deserving of being worth a first-round pick, he should not be the same value as Purdy.

The 49ers quarterback might have dealt with injuries this past season and hasn't been 100% recently, but it's still a bit baffling that Warner has the same trade value.

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Purdy, at his best, is a top-10 QB in the NFL. There's no reason why he should be going for less than two first-round picks, let alone the same price as what Warner could get in a deal.

Barnwell's projection isn't noting what the 49ers would accept for Purdy, as he's invaluable for this team considering their status as contenders. But, it is ascribing a value that doesn't make sense to the 49ers QB.

If the 49ers traded Purdy to the New York Jets for just a first-round pick, that would be a disaster for the 49ers. Even two firsts wouldn't make any sense, even with how good Mac Jones looked last year.

Purdy shouldn't have the same trade value as Warner, and should be worth much more than just one first-round pick. He's a much more valuable QB than that, as this projected value is underrating Purdy greatly.