The 2021 season was a rollercoaster ride for the San Francisco 49ers. After a slow start, some fans were ready to fire Coach Kyle Shanahan and trade away anyone of value. But the team turned things around, and the 49ers came within a few minutes of making its second Super Bowl in three seasons.
Things may not have worked out the way we had hoped, but it was still a fun season. We had a lot to cheer about, and we have much to look forward to. This brings me to the offseason, and six things I believe the 49ers must do to get back to the Super Bowl, and win a sixth Lombardi.
1. Trade Jimmy Garoppolo
I appreciate all that Jimmy Garoppolo did for the 49ers the past five seasons. He took the team deep into the playoffs twice, including one Super Bowl. Had he not dealt with thumb and shoulder injuries in the playoffs, maybe the 49ers would have made it back to the Super Bowl this season. And if he had not been injured in 2018 and 2020, perhaps the 49ers would have made the postseason those years, as well.
Garoppolo is a classy guy, and he is a better quarterback than many people give him credit. But at this point, the 49ers need to move on from Garoppolo. Trading him this offseason could bring back some draft picks. In case you hadn't heard, they traded away a few picks to draft Trey Lance. Trading Garoppolo would give the 49ers some more picks.
Trading Garoppolo would also clear up some cap space, allowing the team to sign some free agents, and possibly extend Nick Bosa and Deebo Samuel. This will be important, especially if the 49ers are able to keep some of their young stars.
Finally, trading Garoppolo allows Lance to take over and continue his development. That is, unless General Manager John Lynch pulls off an earth-shattering trade for Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. But I really don't expect that to happen.
2. Find a number-one cornerback
While I believe Emmanuel Moseley and Ambry Thomas make a good starting pair at cornerback, I would still like to see the team add someone who would be an obvious number one. The secondary, especially at cornerback, needs more depth.
I wouldn't mind seeing Jason Verrett brought back on an incentive-laden contract. He is injured more than he plays, but when he plays, Verrett is a top corner. But he did suffer an ACL injury in September. How well he comes back in 2022 remains to be seen.
But the 49ers could use a top cornerback, in addition to who they already have. And if they decide Moseley and Thomas are their starters, they should at least bring in some quality back-ups. No one wants to see Josh Norman back there again. Ever.
3. Find an edge rusher to compliment Nick Bosa
Bosa returned with a vengeance this season, after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2020. There was hope that Dee Ford would be able to give the 49ers a much-needed boost in its pass rush from the edge, but he just wasn't able to do so.
Having an edge rusher, preferably someone with some quickness, like Ford, would be a great compliment to Bosa. It would take some pressure off the star defender, and make the interior rushers, like Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw, even more effective.
This certainly will be an area of focus this offseason, be it in free agency or the draft.
The #49ers finished with 48 sacks on the season (5th-most in the NFL).
They only had one player with double-digit sacks (Nick Bosa, 15.5).
8 players had between 2 and 6.5 sacks this season for the 49ers. Depth, depth, depth.
— Akash Anavarathan (@akashanav) January 11, 2022
4. Re-sign Laken Tomlinson and D.J. Jones
I'm not sure the 49ers will be able to re-sign Laken Tomlinson and D.J. Jones, but I'd love to see both return. Jones was a force in the middle of the defensive line, and is one reason why the 49ers' defense was so stout against the run. Jones' play was especially critical considering the defense lost Kinlaw for the season. It's possible the 49ers decide having Jones is a luxury, considering they have Kinlaw under contract, but I hope they will bring Jones back. We still don't know what to expect from Kinlaw.
As for Tomlinson, he has to be priority one for the 49ers in free agency. He is a great compliment to Trent Williams, and never misses a game. In fact, I'm not even sure he missed a snap this season. If he did, it was because his shoe came off and he had to miss a play. I seem to remember that happening. Re-signing Tomlinson needs to happen, preferably before March 16th, when other teams can sign him away from the 49ers.
5. Find a right tackle and right guard that can pass block
The 49ers drafted Aaron Banks in the second round of the 2021 draft, hoping he would be the answer at right guard. But Banks barely played in 2021. Now that certainly doesn't mean he's a bust. Sometimes rookies struggle to break in, especially with Shanahan. So there is still hope that Banks can become the starting guard everyone hoped he would be. Daniel Brunskill is serviceable, but he's not the answer long-term, and other than dominating Aaron Donald, normally isn't that effective.
Right tackle has been an issue, at times, too. Mike McGlinchey is the presumed starter at that position, even after missing most of the 2021 season with an injury. McGlinchey is a talented run blocker, but has been ineffective as a pass blocker. Though he was better in his limited time in 2021 than he was in 2020, he still wasn't that good.
But the 49ers picked up McGlinchey's fifth-year option, so he will, in all likelihood, be the starter in 2022. Perhaps he will show more growth this next season.
After McGlinchey went down, it seemed as though Jaylon Moore might be the choice. But instead, the 49ers went with veteran Tom Compton. Compton, like McGlinchey, was good in run blocking situations, but struggled in pass blocking. Maybe Moore can develop into a starter's role. I'd love to see that. But it will most likely be McGlinchey's job to lose.
Regardless, the right side of the offensive line has been a problem when it comes to pass blocking. And now the 49ers will have a young quarterback who doesn't get rid of the ball as quickly as Garoppolo. Having Lance dealing with pressure (from the right side and up the middle) too often is not how the team wants to develop its young signal-caller.
6. Figure out how to protect 4th quarter leads
It's painful to discuss this, but the 49ers have lost a couple of notable games where they had the lead until the mid-fourth quarter. The first was Super Bowl LIV, when they blew a ten-point lead to allow the Kansas City Cheifs to win the game. The most recent was the NFC Championship Game, earlier this month, when they blew another ten-point lead, this time to the division-rival Los Angeles Rams.
Sure there was the playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, where they protected a fourth-quarter lead. But the 49ers didn't score in the fourth quarter, and they almost lost that lead.
It seems like in big games, the team tenses up and becomes ultra-conservative. Is that a Shanahan thing? Is it a Garoppolo thing? Is it that Shanahan never truly trusted Garoppolo, so he was afraid to take chances? I'm guessing it's a little "all of the above."
Regardless, the 49ers of the Camelot days had a killer instinct. They knew how to put teams away. The current 49ers still need to figure that out. Hopefully, it comes soon. The 49ers have five Super Bowl trophies in its Santa Clara museum. But they probably should have seven or eight.
I'm excited to see what they do this offseason. Give me your thoughts on what you think the team should do over the next few months.
- Marc Adams
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Written by:Speaker. Writer. Covering the San Francisco 49ers. Host of the 49ers Camelot show.
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