It’s Tuesday which means another edition of our 49ers Twitter Mailbag. To your questions!
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch will try to address their most pressing needs through free agency before the NFL draft – if they use the same approach as their first offseason last spring.
There’s no reason to think that will change in the second year of their rebuild. And there’s logic behind it. The team is still among the league leaders with some $60 million in cap room and more in the coming seasons thanks to Jimmy Garoppolo’s front-loaded contract.
It’s far easier to create and manipulate cap space than acquire draft picks. Plugging established free agents into the starting lineup is easier than finding Day 1 starters in the draft, which are mostly found in the early rounds.
Remember, third-overall pick Solomon Thomas wasn’t an every-down player until Tank Carradine went down with a high ankle sprain Week 3. Reuben Foster was drafted after signing Malcolm Smith while the team already had NaVorro Bowman. Ahkello Witherspoon was tapped in the third round even though Dontae Johnson and Rashard Robinson were entrenched starters.
It was clear the new regime wanted to lay the long-term foundation through the draft while plugging immediate holes with veterans in free agency. That’s why when they needed receivers last spring they went out and got Pierre Garçon, Marquise Goodwin and Aldrick Robinson. They didn’t have a fullback, so they splurged on Kyle Juszczyk. They did the same at quarterback (Brian Hoyer, Matt Barkley), pass rusher (Elvis Dumervil) and tight end (Logan Paulsen).
Which is why I believe the 49ers will use their cap room on their most pressing hole in the starting lineup – cornerback – which is also one of the hardest to transition to from college to the NFL.
With Trumaine Johnson, Malcolm Butler and Rashaan Melvin topping the free agent class, the 49ers should be comfortable going that route to find an immediate starter. That wouldn’t rule out taking a cornerback early in the draft. Rather, it would allow the team to take the best player available, which could mean going linebacker (Tremaine Edmunds, Roquan Smith), offensive line (Quenton Nelson, Connor Williams), pass rusher, or move back in a trade for more early selections.
I’d also expect the 49ers to make a play for a free agent running back like Dion Lewis or Isaiah Crowell – and draft another running back with pending free agent Carlos Hyde likely playing elsewhere in 2018. It’s expected to be a deep class at the position (an aside: Lewis and a rookie like San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny could be a lethal combination).
San Francisco wanted to use their cap space on a “luxury” addition, Jacksonville receiver Allen Robinson makes plenty of sense. He’s young (24) and could be the No. 1 receiver the team builds around for the long haul. There isn’t a sure-fire top receiver in this draft, which makes Robinson all the more enticing.
And finding a pass rusher at pick No. 9 or 10 in the draft might be tough. Bradley Chubb is widely considered the only true defensive end worthy of a top-10 pick (Edmunds might end up playing there, but he played mostly linebacker at Virginia Tech). If the team decides there isn’t an immediate difference-making pass rusher in the draft, Detroit’s Ezekiel Ansah or New Orleans’ Alex Okafor look like logical free agent targets.
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