After a miserable 6-11 season, which ended with the 49ers going 1-7 in the last 8 games, the 49ers are making moves to avoid a repeat in 2025.
- They fired their Special Teams coordinator Brian Schneider
- They relieved Defensive Coordinator Nick Sorenson of his coordinator duties
- They hired Klay Kubiak as Offensive Coordinator (though Shanahan did confirm he would be final say on play calls)
- They signaled that Trent Williams will likely be back
- They indicated they would like to get the Purdy extension done prior to OTAs so the whole team can be present.
Now that the housekeeping is done it is time to remodel.
First order of business hire a DC and Special Teams Coordinator. Ultimately, I think Sorenson will get shifted over to ST when they bring in a new DC but it remains to be seen. I wouldn't mind that move. The players like him. I think he can handle ST. There are a lot of good potential DC candidates out there. I would like Robert Saleh to come back but he will be up for a couple NFL head coaching jobs and probably some college ones as well so that might be unlikely. As long as they bring in someone who has NFL experience as a DC, has run a similar scheme and shown competence in making adjustments, I will be cool with whoever they bring in.
In terms of roster there is a lot to do but they have salary cap space and 11 draft picks. On the offensive side of the ball they need to:
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Upgrade the Offensive Line. Especially LG and C but they can improve at RT as well. Burford performed well at LG when Banks went out so they might have the LG answer in house, especially if Trent is healthy. Whoever plays beside Trent usually looks good. This draft is not very good for C so I hope they can find one in free agency to at least come in to compete. That leaves RT which is not the biggest need but should be the highest priority come draft time as you can draft a T to play RT next year and take over for Trent at LT once he hangs up his cleats.
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TE depth. Kittle is still playing at an all pro level but TE2 and TE3 were awful this year. They definitely need to draft a big body, blocking TE sometime between rounds 4 and 7.
On the defensive side of the ball they need to:
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shore up Edge opposite Bosa. They have never found that guy to be the staple to play opposite Bosa. I expect they will try to get one within the first three rounds.
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bolster the DLine with some run stuffers. DLine will be a big priority in this draft. They need a run stuffer. They got some decent work out of Malik Collins and Evan Anderson this year but they need that interior stud. I expect they will address DT in both the draft and free agency.
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bring back Dre Greenlaw. Easier said than done. He is a free agent and will have many suitors. Hopefully they can retain him. If not, Dee Winters can slide in nicely beside Fred Warner but they will definitely need to get a LB in the draft or free agency for depth and three linebacker sets.
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bring back Talanoa Hufunga. Less easier said than done but still easier said than done. He is a free agent but due to injury history he might not get the kind of offers Greenlaw will. If he doesn't return. They need to draft or sign a starting safety. Mustapha had a great rookie season and Brown is serviceable as a backup but they will need another good starting level safety.
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49ers are set a corner for the next 4 years with Lenore and Green but they need more than 2 corners. With Ward likely leaving in free agency and Yiadom also a free agent they have some work to do depth wise here. They should bring Yiadom back. He was a good depth guy but they need to address this position in both the draft and free agency. They are a major injury to Lenore or Green away from this room looking very ugly.
Lots of work left to do but as I mentioned salary cap space, draft capital, hopefully some new coaches that put their players in positions to succeed and add in the easiest schedule in the NFL next year (going from hardest to easiest) and you have a recipe for a big bounce back year.
Sats for all,
GR