Ranking San Francisco 49ers' Best Remaining Free-Agency Options
San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke recently laid out his roster-building philosophy in a group interview with Bay Area reporters.
“If you can, you’re trying to build your roster leading into the draft where teams can’t pigeonhole you as to you have to take this position,” Baalke explained.
“When you get pigeonholed like that, other teams can maneuver if they need to get ahead of you. You’re always trying to get into that draft with the mindset that nobody can lock in and say, ‘Boy, they’ve got to take this position.’ You try to get into it with the idea that we can go wherever we want to go and feel pretty good about it.”
So far this offseason, Baalke has signed or tendered 13 free agents. He has addressed almost every position of need the 49ers have. It is practically impossible to predict which position the 49ers will take with their first-round pick in the upcoming draft.
Mission accomplished.
Still, Baalke has not yet addressed every position of need. There are more moves he could make. Here are the five best free-agent options remaining on the market for the 49ers.
5. Trent Richardson
1 of 5
The 49ers need another power running back. Reggie Bush doesn’t count.
The Niners are a power-running team, a run-first team, and yet they have just one running back who can run between the tackles—Carlos Hyde. His backups—Bush and Kendall Hunter—are outside-the-tackles runners. If Hyde were to get hurt, the Niners would have to change their entire offense. It would become a finesse offense.
Baalke would be foolish to go into next season with only one power running back on the roster. Baalke should draft a power running back, and he also should sign a cheap power running back to a non-guaranteed contract.
How about Trent Richardson? The former first-round pick has played so poorly during his career, the Niners just might be able to sign him to a non-guaranteed deal.
Richardson has averaged 3.3 measly yards per carry in his career, but he’s only 24 years old, he weighs 228 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40-yard dash.
Richardson deserves one more chance to make an NFL roster. If he doesn’t play well during training camp and the preseason, the 49ers can simply cut him.
4. John Kuhn
2 of 5
The 49ers’ starting full back, Bruce Miller, was arrested for allegedly pushing his fiancee to the ground on March 5, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Miller has not been charged with a crime. If he does get charged, he could face suspension. The 49ers must be prepared for that possibility.
Miller is one of the best fullbacks in the NFL and a key member of the 49ers’ power-running offense. The 49ers’ offense cannot function without a good fullback.
John Kuhn is a good fullback. He is 32 years old, and the Green Bay Packers don't seem to be in a rush to re-sign him.
Kuhn is not nearly as good of a receiver as Miller, but Kuhn is an excellent blocker. He was the fifth-best fullback in the NFL in terms of blocking last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
The site ranked Miller No. 3.
3. Dwight Freeney
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The 49ers have two terrific edge-rushers—Aldon Smith and Aaron Lynch.
A third one couldn’t hurt.
Corey Lemonier was supposed to be the third one, but he is an atrocious pass-rusher—one sack in two seasons. He doesn’t use his hands to beat the opposing offensive tackle. Instead, he runs into the offensive tackle and gets tied up.
The 49ers wasted a third-round draft pick on Lemonier in 2013. He is a special teams player and nothing more. The 49ers should cut him and replace him with someone who can sack the quarterback, someone like Dwight Freeney.
Freeney would be a terrific bench player who could replace Aldon Smith or Aaron Lynch when they’re tired. Freeney is 35 years old, but he was the seventh-best pass-rusher among 3-4 outside linebackers last season, according to Pro Football Focus. The site credited him with 49 pressures in just 590 snaps.
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2. Red Bryant
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The 49ers cut a very good run defender when they released Ray McDonald.
Pro Football Focus gave McDonald a plus-7.8 run-defense grade in 2014—12th-best among 3-4 defensive ends.
The 49ers signed Darnell Dockett; however, he’s a pass-rushing specialist, not a run defender. Dockett will replace Justin Smith if Smith retires. The Niners don’t have a legitimate replacement for McDonald.
Red Bryant would be a legitimate replacement. In fact, he would be an upgrade over McDonald. Pro Football Focus gave Bryant a plus-12.8 run-defense grade last season.
Bryant could replace McDonald at left defensive end in the 49ers’ base defense—Bryant has been a run-stuffing left defensive end for the majority of his entire career. He is merely five months older than McDonald.
On passing downs when the Niners need more pass-rushers, they could take Bryant off the field, and Dockett could take his place.
1. Vince Wilfork
5 of 5
Vince Wilfork is even better against the run than Red Bryant.
Last season, Pro Football Focus gave Wilfork a plus-15.0 grade against the run—sixth-best among 3-4 defensive ends.
Wilfork also is more versatile than Bryant. Bryant can play only one position, but Wilfork can play all three positions on the 49ers’ defensive line—left defensive end (5-technique), nose tackle (1-technique), and right defensive end (3-technique).
At 33 years old, Wilfork might want to sign a contract with a team that has a legitimate shot to win a Super Bowl next season. It’s questionable whether the 49ers have a legitimate shot.
But there is something—or someone—that could work in the 49ers’ favor—new defensive coordinator Eric Mangini. Mangini was Wilfork’s defensive coordinator on the New England Patriots in 2005, Wilfork’s second year in the league.
Perhaps Wilfork would like to play for his former coach.
All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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