Taking stock: where the 49ers sit after the first week of free agency

By Scooter_McG

With the first week of FA almost over, now is a good time to take stock of the 49ers situation. As a quick recap, notable moves the 49ers have made this off-season include (note: I have left out some of the bottom of the roster/ training camp body moves):

• Re-signed: Josh Rosen, Trent Williams, Daniel Brunskill, Kyle Juszczyk, Jeff Wilson, Austin Walter, Ross Dwelley, Jauan Jennings, River Cracraft, DJ Jones, Emmanuel Moseley, Jason Verrett, Dontae Johnson, Ken Webster, Jaquiski Tartt, Marcell Harris, Taybor Pepper.
• Signed: Alex Mack, Trent Sherfield, Samson Ebukam, Tavon Wilson.
• Lost: Kendrick Bourne, Solomon Thomas, Ahkello Witherspoon.

Notable remaining 49ers FAs include Nick Mullens, CJ Beathard, Ben Garland, Tevin Coleman, Jordan Reed, Trent Taylor, Kerry Hyder, Ronald Blair, Dion Jordan, Jordan Willis, Richard Sherman, K’Wuan Williams and Jamar Taylor.

The 49ers now have players that can start at every position on the roster, though some positions are noticeably weaker than others and there are some depth issues. As it stands, this is how I see the 49ers position groups.

QB: At this point it appears JG has the starting spot sewn up for 2021, but the 49ers still need to figure out what they are doing behind him this season as well as what the position holds moving forward.

OL: The starting OL unit now seems pretty set, with Williams, Tomlinson, Mack, Brunskill and McGlinchey. There is decent depth at OT and OG as well, with Coleman, McKivitz and Skule. However, a backup center could be added and the team may want more competition at OG – and this can potentially be taken care of with one player. Also, don’t rule out McGlinchey getting the Trent Brown treatment if the 49ers see an upgrade available in the draft.

RB/FB: Juice is back and will man the FB position. Mostert and Wilson seem set as the 1-2 punch at RB, and Hasty played well enough last season to be given a chance to take the third spot this season. The team could easily roll with what they have, but I expect some additions will be made to the RB room through the draft/ UDFAs.

TE: Kittle is perhaps the best in the business, but his style of play has so far led to him getting banged up each season, including missing much of last year. Shanahan also likes using two TE sets. Behind Kittle there is Dwelley and Woerner, and neither player has proven they can take up the slack or be a reliable number 2.

WR: Samuel and Aiyuk have the making of an electric starting duo, if they can remain on the field. However, that proved a problem last season and there isn’t much proven depth on the roster behind them.

Edge: Armstead, Bosa and Ebukam look a good trio, and recent reports indicate that Dee Ford is expected to be fit enough to resume playing which would be a massive boon for the team. However, the 49ers would be foolish to rely on Ford’s health, and add in Bosa coming back from a torn ACL, some quality depth is still needed.

DT: Kinlaw, Jones, Givens, Street and Daniels were the DTs for most of last season (after Thomas went down with an ACL tear), and they all remain on the roster after Jones was re-signed. Armstead also slides into DT on passing downs. The team may look to add some depth and competition, but at this stage that seems like a low priority.

LB: Warner and Greenlaw are an excellent starting pair and figure to see the majority of snaps at LB in 2021. Al-Shaair and Flannigan-Fowles provide depth and may compete for the SAM role in base formations. Ebukam could also potentially see some time at SAM in base, though in his introductory press conference he suggested the 49ers want him to play DE primarily. A LB will likely be added for depth and competition, but it seems unlikely this will be a priority position.

Slot CB: K’Wuan Williams and Jamar Taylor were the main starters at this position last season, and both remain unsigned. Dontae Johnson played some snaps in the slot and can start if needed, but this is clearly one of the biggest needs remaining.

Outside CB: Moseley and Verrett will most likely be the starters barring any major additions, and Johnson can be a capable backup, but after that that the position is looking perilously lean. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple more additions at this position.

Safety: Jimmie Ward and the newly re-signed Tartt will be the starting safeties once again, while adding Wilson provides an experienced backup (primarily at SS). The 49ers also have Marcell Harris and Tarvarius Moore for depth, both who have gained valuable experience over the past two seasons. The recent moves for Tartt and Wilson have made the safety room one of the strongest and deepest on the team right now. Even so, four of these players are going to be FAs next year, so don’t rule out a rookie being added.

STs: Not much to see here. 49ers are set with their specialists, and have some excellent STs coverage players.

Based on the above, the major remaining needs I see (not necessarily in this order) are slot CB (starter and depth), outside CB (competition for starter role plus depth), edge depth, backup QB/ QBOTF, third WR, #2 TE and backup center. 

As it currently stands, the 49ers have around $20M in remaining cap space, not accounting for the recent deals for Tartt and Wilson. Assuming around $15M is set aside for the rookies, a Fred Warner extension and in-season cap flexibility, there is still enough cap space to add more FAs to help fill some of the remaining holes on the team. And more cap space can be created if needed fairly easily, even if they don’t want to touch JG’s contract – additional cap space could be freed up easily by restructuring Ward’s contract, for instance.

For mine the most obvious position that I expect to still be filled via FA is slot CB, with Williams still on the market as well as a number of other decent vet options. I also expect another vet edge player to be added (someone like Hyder) as well as a low budget outside CB looking for a 1-year prove it, incentive-based deal (someone like Gareon Conley may be a fit). The 49ers have also spoken to Joe Flacco and shown interest in some other vet QBs, so it would not surprise if a low cost vet QB is added to compete for the backup role. Other guys on the vet minimum will also likely be added for camp competition, but will have minimal implications on the cap. This would set them up nicely heading into the draft.

How do you see the 49ers remaining needs, and how do you expect the 49ers to fill them from here?