You have your options, as the 49ers have plenty of needs on both sides of the ball, specifically the line of scrimmage
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With only two weeks remaining for the 49ers, all eyes have shifted to the team’s offseason plans and the NFL draft. In 2025, the 49ers will look to rebound and regain their status as NFC contenders with a successful draft class and free-agent acquisitions. The front office will have difficult decisions on veteran and beloved players while putting out the best roster for Week 1 with a mixture of cornerstone and young, cheap, and impactful talent.
This week’s question is: What is the biggest need for the 49ers?
Left Tackle
Trent Williams’ season ended with an ankle injury. Whether Williams wishes to return is up to him in 2025, but let’s assume the future Hall of Famer returns, given his contract terms. How many more years does Williams have in the tank? Let’s get the obvious out of the way: replacing the best left tackle to ever play the game isn’t going to happen. The 49ers did the impossible by replacing Joe Staley with Williams, but I doubt they can do the impossible twice.
Jaylon Moore replaced Williams admirably before his season-ending injury. Moore is a free agent in 2025. Given the lineman landscape, Moore figures to draw attention from other organizations. Spencer Burford will be the starting left tackle for the final two games and will return to his college position. Burford’s audition is more about the depth behind Williams and competition.
Kelvin Banks, Jr (Texas), Will Campbell (LSU), Emery Jones, Jr (LSU), and others will be coveted in the draft. The left tackle market in free agency will include Cam Robinson, Ronnie Stanley, and D.J. Humphries, but it would be wise for the 49ers to draft the heir apparent to Williams.
Offensive Guard
Dominick Puni is the starting right tackle of the future. Aaron Banks likely has played his last down as a 49er and will depart in free agency. Nick Zakelj will get an audition at left guard down the stretch. Tyler Booker (Alabama), Donovan Jackson (Ohio State), Tate Ratledge (Georgia), and Luke Kandra (Cincinnati) figure to be the top guards available in the draft.
Ben Bartch played well before his season-ending injury and figures to be in the mix for a return, but will the 49ers draft a young guard with competition in training camp for the starting position with Bartch and others?
EDGE/Defensive End
Abdul Carter is the EDGE jewel of the NFL draft. The Penn State defensive end figures to be gone very high in the draft, which, as of now, the 49ers aren’t in position for. Leonard Floyd has been a veteran addition to complement Nick Bosa, but with the miss on Drake Jackson, the team needs to find a young running mate for the former defensive player of the year.
Josh Sweat from the Philadelphia Eagles is 27 years old, and Khalil Mack, Haason Reddick, and Matt Judon, who are in their 30s, will all be available. The team has used veterans to help Bosa, but the best-case scenario is landing a blue-chip EDGE rusher in the draft for cheap.
Defensive Tackle
Javon Hargrave is a post-June 1 cut candidate. Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott are rotational defensive tackles. Javon Kinlaw was selected in the first round following the DeForest Buckner trade and bolted for the Jets after being billed as the building block on the interior for the defensive line. Defensive tackle is a huge question mark heading into 2025.
B.J. Hill from the Bengals and old friend D.J. Jones will be available, but Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant (Michigan), along with Derrick Harmon (Oregon), Tyleik Williams (Ohio State), and Walter Nolen (Ole Miss) are the top five defensive tackles in the draft.
Center
It’s time for the 49ers to upgrade the center position. Jake Brendel was a journeyman center before he took over as the 49ers starting center. With Brendel as the center, the team was a few plays away from winning a Lombardi, but it’s time to go younger at the position with a better pass protector.
Ryan Kelly from Indianapolis is at the top of the free-agent center list. Parker Brailsford from Alabama is the top center in the draft. The center position in Kyle Shanahan’s offense is vital. Weston Richburg stepped in solidly in 2019 before Alex Mack took over in 2021, and the team is looking for a long-term solution for the position.
Update: The 49ers signed former Atlanta Falcons center Matt Hennessy to a two-year deal today.
What do you think? Which position do the 49ers need to upgrade in free agency or the draft the most? Let us know in the comments!
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