With Patrick Willis' Retirement, Defense Is Now 49ers' Draft Priority

The retirement of San Francisco 49ers' inside linebacker Patrick Willis has had a three-pronged effect.

It has left fans saddened at losing one of the most likeable players on the team, has taken away the Niners' most influential leader and likely forced the front office to change the approach going into the 2015 draft.

San Francisco has needs on both sides of the ball, but with the Niners' depth at the wide receiver position scarce, the consensus had been that they would grab one of the top pass-catchers in a talented class with the No. 15 pick in the first round.

Willis' decision to call it a day after eight seasons in the league has changed all that. And his departure, along with a couple of other events from the early days of free agency, means it is now the defense that should be the priority when the Niners settle on their draft strategy at the end of April.

Of course, it is fair to point out that the 49ers defense, for all its injuries, including the toe problem that kept Willis out for most of the year and ultimately played a factor in his decision to hang them up, was still one of the best in the league in 2014. It ranked No. 5 in yards allowed.

And with Chris Borland likely to slot straight in for Willis alongside Bowman following his incredible rookie season, it is—on the face of it—not too much of an exaggeration to suggest that the former Ole Miss star's move to walk away from football should not have too much of a bearing on the Niners defense or general manager Trent Baalke's plans for the draft.

But in order to get a full understanding of the challenges facing new defensive coordinator Eric Mangini's defense in 2015, a closer examination of the depth is needed.

	Starter	Second String	Third String	Fourth String
LE	Darnell Dockett	Tank Carradine	Kaleb Ramsey
NT	Glenn Dorsey	Ian Williams	Mike Purcell
RE	Justin Smith	Tony Jerod-Eddie	Quinton Dial	Lawrence Okoye
LOLB	Ahmad Brooks	Aaron Lynch	Chase Thomas
LILB	Chris Borland	Nick Moody
RILB	NaVorro Bowman	Michael Wilhoite	Shayne Skov
ROLB	Aldon Smith	Corey Lemonier
LCB	Tramaine Brock	Marcus Cromartie	Cameron Fuller
RCB	Dontae Johnson	Leon McFadden	Keith Reaser
SCB	Jimmie Ward	Kenneth Acker
FS	Eric Reid	L.J. McCray
SS	Antoine Bethea	Craig Dahl

The table above is my guess at what the depth chart looks like with the defensive players currently under contract with the Niners. While on first glance San Francisco appears to have decent depth, it is not difficult to find potential holes in this unit.

Starting up front, the obvious issue concerns Justin Smith. It is still not clear whether the former Cincinnati Bengal will return for a 15th NFL season. Smith told 's Matt Barrows Monday he was still not "100 percent" on his decision. But should he go, that would leave free-agent acquisition Darnell Dockett and nose tackle Glenn Dorsey as the only truly experienced guys on the defensive line. 

Tim Sharp/Associated Press

Failing to add depth following Smith's potential departure would place a lot of pressure on third-year players Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial to perform after seeing relatively limited playing time in their first two seasons. And one could make the argument that further additions in the trenches are required even if Smith—who would be entering the final year of his contract—does opt to return. 

Willis' retirement severely changes the landscape behind the defensive front. There is no guarantee Borland will repeat his outstanding rookie year or that fellow inside linebacker Bowman will be able to play at the same level he did before his devastating knee injury in the 2013-14 NFC Championship Game.

Behind that pair on the inside, Michael Wilhoite is a solid backup but nothing else, as evidenced by his minus-5.1 grade from Pro Football Focus at the end of a 2014 campaign in which he played every game. And Nick Moody is unlikely to contribute anywhere but special teams.

The news that Baalke has no plans to release Ahmad Brooks, per Niners Digest's Chris Biderman (h/t David Fucillo of Niners Nation), despite his high cap number is a boost to the depth on the outside. Brooks, though, will need to bounce back after a disappointing and at times tumultuous 2014 season in which he was ranked at No. 42 among all 3-4 outside backers by PFF.

Beyond Brooks, the Niners are banking on Aldon Smith keeping his nose clean and rediscovering his best after he restructured the final year of his contract to be paid in roster bonuses, per Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area. Aaron Lynch will need to to continue his development on the back of his eye-catching rookie performance.

Even if all that was to happen, with Dan Skuta departing for the Jacksonville Jaguars and 2013 second-round pick Corey Lemonier struggling to make an impact, the Niners would still look a little thin at outside linebacker. The same cannot be said of the secondary, where the issue is more over the quality of the depth rather than the presence of it.

The 49ers, per Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle, may not re-sign Perrish Cox after a year in which he recorded five interceptions. The Niners also lost another of their top cornerbacks from 2014, Chris Culliver, to the Washington Redskins, per NFL.com's Ian Rapoport.

With that duo set for pastures new, Tramaine Brock stands as the 49ers' only experienced corner. Dontae Johnson and Jimmie Ward both saw playing time as rookies last year. But it would be a big ask of Keith Reaser and Kenneth Acker—redshirt rookies in 2014—to step up and perform should injuries press them into service.

Eric Reid's three concussions in two seasons create some cause for concern at the safety position and the argument for San Francisco putting more focus on the defensive side of the ball was given further weight by the Niners addressing one of their biggest offensive issues with the signing of wide receiver Torrey Smith.

The acquisition of the former Baltimore Raven does not fix all of the 49ers' problems on the offensive side of the ball. They still need some added wideout depth, particularly following the release of Stevie Johnson, and could potentially use help at guard on the back of Mike Iupati's move to the division rival Arizona Cardinals.

But with Carlos Hyde stepping up for the departed Frank Gore and tight end Vernon Davis seemingly remaining on the team, the 49ers offense looks to be beginning to take shape, potentially leaving Baalke to concentrate on adding pieces to the defense, which has long been his strength.

Of course, it would be grossly unfair to discount the players drafted in years past who will be asked to contribute more in 2015. Borland and Lynch have demonstrated the talent to suggest they can become high-caliber NFL players. The likes of Carradine and Dial displayed more than a few flashes of promise in 2014. 

Baalke's philosophy has always been to draft and develop. It is up to the new coaching staff assembled under Jim Tomsula to focus on the development side of things. But Baalke will know he cannot afford to rest on his laurels when examining the state of the defense.

The other holes on defense were there before Willis chose to take his leave, and talk of a 49ers implosion because of his exit and the other losses San Francisco has sustained in free agency is certainly premature. However, what his decision has done is ensure that there is some kind of question mark over every area of the 49ers defense.

San Francisco was never likely to address many of those concerns in free agency. With Willis having sailed off into the sunset and the 2015 class looking strong in terms of defensive line and edge-rusher prospects, Baalke's primary task in the draft should be make sure the defense has the strength in depth to preserve its status as one of the best in the league even without its longtime emotional leader.

Nicholas McGee is a San Francisco 49ers Featured Columnist based in Leeds, England. Follow him on Twitter @nicholasmcgee24.