Realistic Mock Offseason

Here's my first crack at an offseason mock. Before I jump in, a few notes:

1. I wanted this to be a realistic view of what could happen. That means we're not signing 5 blue chip free agents. Lynch clearly values our fiscal flexibility. We absolutely will not use all of our cap room or even close to it.
2. I didn't do the whole draft. It's too early to be guessing who we're picking in the 5th round or even what position we'd grab. I chose specific players for the first two picks and positions for our next two.

Resign:
G Dan Kilgore
T Gary Gilliam
DE Cassius Marsh
ILB Brock Coyle

Notes: I think all of these guys are NFL players and can be decent backups or stop-gap starters.

Free Agency:
RB Dion Lewis
WR Taylor Gabriel
TE Trey Burton
G Josh Kline
SLB Connor Barwin
CB Trumaine Johnson

Notes: I don't think we sign the splashy skill position guys like Allen Robinson or Jimmy Graham. To me, Goodwin proved that he can be our WR2. Getting Garçon back will be like another FA acquisition in it's own right. However, I think Gabriel upgrades the back end of our WR corp which was our biggest issue this year - no more Bourne or Robinson. I see Dion Lewis as a great fit to share the backfield with Williams/Breida/Rookie. He's definitely not going to be a work horse but he's a very good player with a championship pedigree. Burton is the sexy TE pick but I think it's a great fit. Kittle has definitely earned a role on this team so getting another TE to compliment rather than replace him would be my approach.

On the defensive side of the ball, I see Johnson as the big signing. CB is arguably our biggest need, he perfectly fits the mold of the type of corners we need in our system, and he's from Stockton. He's already been tagged and the Rams need to dish out big money to Donald so he'll likely be changing uniforms. Last year, we pursued Barwin (I think). He'll compete with Harold for the SAM position.

Draft:
1. DE Harold Landry
2. RB Ronald Jones
3. Center
3. Wide Receiver

I know Landry isn't the sexy pick, but he was dominant when he was healthy last year. We need to get pass rush from somewhere and it rarely comes from free agency or the later rounds of the draft. I see him more of a SAM in our system but we'd likely play him at LEO initially because, frankly, we have no one else and I cannot bare seeing Armstead playing there for another down. I think Rojo would be a good fit for Shanny's offense. I like his quickness and agility. With Rojo + Lewis + Williams/Brieda we should be good at RB.

Whoever we grab at C would compete with Kilgore for the starting spot. Obviously not ideal but we're not going to plug every hole in one offseason. WR for depth because we do not want to be put in the same position we were this year.

Id be hella down with somen like this. Nice job sir.

The risk of Kilgore starting again is scary as hell. He was our worst lineman

Originally posted by fan49:

The risk of Kilgore starting again is scary as hell. He was our worst lineman

Agree. I'd address C over guard in FA, and think we go for a vet like Paradis, Jensen, or Richburg.

No problem with taking Landry but behind that I expected to see way more emphasis on the O line. Drafting a center in the 3rd is unlikely to bring you a starter and aside from resigning a couple of our nags you only appear to have picked up Kline, who I dont remember very well but may be ok. If we are going to pick a center for development, which is what a 3rd rounder says to me, then imo we need to use FA to get an upgrade on Kilgore. To me, this with Kline would be a minimum. I would much rather see more work on the weakest unit of the team.

My 2c.

Realistic FA haul and good first pick, but I think we double-down on O-line after that.

Originally posted by fan49:

The risk of Kilgore starting again is scary as hell. He was our worst lineman

I don't love it either but I think Kilgore won't be as noticeable if we have two good guards surrounding him. Right now we have three gaping holes in a row on our line.

I'm not sure what center you think will be available in the third who could start. Price and Ragnow will be gone by then. The other options, like Wynn and Bozeman, won't be ready to start. This scenario has Jimmy G. running for his life, with a strong possibility he gets injured or starts hearing footsteps.

As you said, they can't fix everything in one offseason, so why not focus first on protecting the best quarterback this team has had in a long time? Shouldn't that be a high priority?

Very solid. But I'd like to see the 2nd round pick geared towards interior OL

Originally posted by Draftology:
Here's my first crack at an offseason mock. Before I jump in, a few notes:

1. I wanted this to be a realistic view of what could happen. That means we're not signing 5 blue chip free agents. Lynch clearly values our fiscal flexibility. We absolutely will not use all of our cap room or even close to it.
2. I didn't do the whole draft. It's too early to be guessing who we're picking in the 5th round or even what position we'd grab. I chose specific players for the first two picks and positions for our next two.

Resign:
G Dan Kilgore
T Gary Gilliam
DE Cassius Marsh
ILB Brock Coyle

Notes: I think all of these guys are NFL players and can be decent backups or stop-gap starters.

Free Agency:
RB Dion Lewis
WR Taylor Gabriel
TE Trey Burton
G Josh Kline
SLB Connor Barwin
CB Trumaine Johnson

Notes: I don't think we sign the splashy skill position guys like Allen Robinson or Jimmy Graham. To me, Goodwin proved that he can be our WR2. Getting Garçon back will be like another FA acquisition in it's own right. However, I think Gabriel upgrades the back end of our WR corp which was our biggest issue this year - no more Bourne or Robinson. I see Dion Lewis as a great fit to share the backfield with Williams/Breida/Rookie. He's definitely not going to be a work horse but he's a very good player with a championship pedigree. Burton is the sexy TE pick but I think it's a great fit. Kittle has definitely earned a role on this team so getting another TE to compliment rather than replace him would be my approach.

On the defensive side of the ball, I see Johnson as the big signing. CB is arguably our biggest need, he perfectly fits the mold of the type of corners we need in our system, and he's from Stockton. He's already been tagged and the Rams need to dish out big money to Donald so he'll likely be changing uniforms. Last year, we pursued Barwin (I think). He'll compete with Harold for the SAM position.

Draft:
1. DE Harold Landry
2. RB Ronald Jones
3. Center
3. Wide Receiver

I know Landry isn't the sexy pick, but he was dominant when he was healthy last year. We need to get pass rush from somewhere and it rarely comes from free agency or the later rounds of the draft. I see him more of a SAM in our system but we'd likely play him at LEO initially because, frankly, we have no one else and I cannot bare seeing Armstead playing there for another down. I think Rojo would be a good fit for Shanny's offense. I like his quickness and agility. With Rojo + Lewis + Williams/Brieda we should be good at RB.

Whoever we grab at C would compete with Kilgore for the starting spot. Obviously not ideal but we're not going to plug every hole in one offseason. WR for depth because we do not want to be put in the same position we were this year.

Bourne has tons of upside and prospered under Garoppolo. What makes you think he isn't in their future plans?

Originally posted by pickle:

Bourne has tons of upside and prospered under Garoppolo. What makes you think he isn't in their future plans?

I don't know what you're seeing but "tons of upside" is a stretch.

Too much of a lack of emphasis on the offensive line. The first thing shanny did in ATL was revamp the o-line and theyve already stated they will be aggressive in FA. Lynch was practically foaming at the mouth. They know they have an opportunity to turn things around in a major this offseaon, and I don't see them targeting a bunch of middling players just to temper expectations. Your draft is fine, but you're really selling things short in FA for the sake of being "realistic."

Originally posted by Draftology:

Originally posted by pickle:
Bourne has tons of upside and prospered under Garoppolo. What makes you think he isn't in their future plans?

I don't know what you're seeing but "tons of upside" is a stretch.

Agreed. Bourne is nothing but filler. Made the most of his opportunities, but I could see him not being on the team next season.

Originally posted by Garoppolis:

I'm not sure what center you think will be available in the third who could start. Price and Ragnow will be gone by then. The other options, like Wynn and Bozeman, won't be ready to start. This scenario has Jimmy G. running for his life, with a strong possibility he gets injured or starts hearing footsteps.

As you said, they can't fix everything in one offseason, so why not focus first on protecting the best quarterback this team has had in a long time? Shouldn't that be a high priority?

Because 1) I think Kilgore is below average but not atrocious and 2) we'd be improving both other guard spots significantly with Kline and Garnett coming back.

Originally posted by Dillesq:

Too much of a lack of emphasis on the offensive line. The first thing shanny did in ATL was revamp the o-line and theyve already stated they will be aggressive in FA. Lynch was practically foaming at the mouth. They know they have an opportunity to turn things around in a major this offseaon, and I don't see them targeting a bunch of middling players just to temper expectations. Your draft is fine, but you're really selling things short in FA for the sake of being "realistic."

I promise you that we won't use anything close to all our cap space. I think getting one top tier FA and a couple of tier two guys is what will happen. Adding Kline, getting Garnett back, and adding a 3rd rd pick is revamping the line.