49ers Roster Overview + Offseason Preview

Man, what a year and what even more deflating finish. Now that we've been able to grieve, it's time to look forward. The good news is the 49ers are absolutely stacked and will be returning stars and key players in their prime at almost every position. Looking at this roster, there are very few holes and this offseason will be an opportunity to get deeper and better. Let's take a look, position by position and identify key gaps and how the Niners can fill them.

OFFENSE
QB (2): Trey Lance, Brock Purdy
Shanahan was unequivocal today: the 49ers have two starter-level QBs who they intend to move forward with. Purdy has shown he can be a very very good QB in this system - think Kirk Cousins with second-reaction ability. Lance is unproven, raw-grade plutonium. There's no way it makes sense to give up on a 22 year old kid with all the potential in the world. I expect the 49ers to sign an experienced veteran to come in and mentor the two kids; thinking Andy Dalton or Matt Ryan (assuming he's released by the Colts). In all, the Niners will be spending less than $13M on this position.

RB (5): Christian McCaffrey, Eli Mitchell, Jordan Mason, Ty Davis-Price, Juice (FB)
The deepest RB room in the NFL. I don't envision the Niners adding players here, maybe in the late rounds of the draft or a couple UFAS. I'm excited to see what Mason can do next year and hopefully Mitchell can string together more than three healthy games. The goal is to load balance CMC with Eli, JPM and TDP. Not much to add here.

WR (6): Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Danny Gray, Jauan Jennings (ERFA), Ray-ray McCloud, Tay Martin
This position group should return intact from last year. Aiyuk and Deebo are in their primes but this group needs to get more from Danny Gray. If he emerges, this becomes one of the deepest WR rooms in the NFL. Keep an eye on Tay Martin who's got some Kendrick Bourne in him. Whether or not the Niners draft a WR this year will depend on whether they expect Aiyuk to sign a long term extension...

TE (2): George Kittle, Charlie Woerner
Like the last many years, TE is George Kittle and not much else. Kittle will turn 30 next season and the team needs to start managing his snap count. I fully expect them to draft a TE, maybe even on Day 2, and they should look to add another to the mix via FA.

OL (8): Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Spencer Burford, Colton McKivitz (RFA), Jaylon Moore, Nick Zakelj, Jason Poe, LeRoy Watson
The Niners have three key UFAs on the OL: Mike McGlinchey, Dan Brunskill and Jake Brendel. McGlinchey will be tough to retain as he's one of the top 2 or 3 OTs available on the market, but I expect the team to resign one of the Brendel and Bunskill to compete with Zakelj (and maybe Poe) for Center in 2023. Assuming Brendel is back, RT becomes the biggest need on offense for this team. I expect Niners to bring back McKivitz and have him compete with Jaylon Moore for that spot. One of those two guys should emerge as an above replacement player. Keep an eye on dark horse LeRoy Watson. Watson is a former TE who has absurd length and athleticism. The Niners like his upside. I also expect them to add at least two more linemen via draft and FA.

DEFENSE
DL (6): Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, Kevin Givens (RFA), Kalia Davis, Drake Jackson
What's been historically the Niners deepest position group needs major re-stocking going into the offseason. The Niners are losing some key pieces including Omenihu, Ebukam, Jordan Willis and Hassan Ridgeway to free agency. I would love to see them bring back Willis and Ridgeway who played very well as rotational pieces. Also Maurice Hurst is worth a flyer; maybe he can finally make it through a couple game stretch. DT depth is a must given all the questions around Kinlaw though I am very excited to see what we have in Kalia Davis. The big question is whether the Niners splurge and look for a dynamic rusher to compliment Bosa; think Jadaveon Clowney. Otherwise, look for them to really dip into this position group in the draft.

LB (5): Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, Oren Burks, Demetrius Flanigan-Fowles (RFA), Curtis Robinson
SF returns the best LB duo in the league with Warner and Greenlaw and a bunch of very strong special-teamers behind them. This organization has had so much success drafting LBs in rounds 3-5, I can 100% see them targeting a player they deem as an Azeez replacement that can fill Greenlaw's void in two years once his new contract expires.

CB (4): Mooney Ward, Deommodore Leonir, Samuel Womack, Ambry Thomas
Lenoir finished the season strong but he's an average at best CB. The big question facing this unit is whether they can resign Emmanuel Moseley on a relatively cheap "prove it" deal coming off his torn ACL. Prior to injury, E-Man was looking like a good-to-great #2 CB and this unit took a major hit when he went down. At Nickel, I'm still a big believer in Womack. He's got all the tools in the world to be great. If the Niners don't bring back Moseley, they'll definitely be looking for CB help in the draft.

S (2): Talanoa Hufanga, Quantrezz Knight
Nowhere on the roster is the cupboard more bare than S. Hufanga is an ascending player who is holding down SS, but this defense sorely lacks a ball-hawking playmaker on the back-end. I was hopeful they'd bring back Jimmie Ward to play FS on a reasonable deal(especially given he'll already take up a chunk of cap space next year because of how many times his contract was restructured), but that's sounding less likely. I know this team loves Knight, but he's more of a Swiss army knife rover than a true S. Do they bring back Gipson? Is there another low price vet they can target or can they scoop up Ronnie Hickman from OSU in the 3rd Round. Lots of unknowns here....

SPECIAL TEAMS
K (0): Robbie Gould is a FA and sounds like he wants to come back. Only question is at what price?
P (1): Mitch Wishnowsky
LS: (0): Taybor Pepper is a UFA; I assume they bring him back.

OVERALL
This is a roster with few major holes and a lot of stars. The biggest question marks as we head into the offseason are at RT, S, potential OC and DE depth. If the Niners scouting department is up for the task, this team can return as loaded, if not more so, in 2023. LET"S GO!