San Francisco 49ers: Identifying a Perfect Draft Replacement for Patrick Willis

The tumultuous offseason for the San Francisco 49ers got dramatically worse when Patrick Willis announced his retirement. Over the span of his eight-year NFL career, Willis was arguably the best player at his position.

Willis was a five-time First-Team All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowl selection. In addition to his play on the field, Willis was a team leader. His departure leaves a huge void for the 49ers.

To make matters worse, Chris Borland, the heir apparent to Willis, announced his retirement, citing long-term concerns over head trauma. In an interview on ESPN's "Outside the Lines," Borland made his surprise announcement to ESPN's Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru.

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Borland played extremely well in 2014 and was one of the 49ers' bright spots in a mediocre season. He started only eight games, but led the team in tackles with 107.

With the retirement of Willis, it was expected Borland would team up at inside linebacker with NaVorro Bowman, who sat out all of last season due to a devastating knee injury.

It remains to be seen whether Bowman can return to his stellar level of play and whether his knee will hold up. With the untimely departures of Willis and Borland, plus the uncertainty surrounding Bowman, the 49ers have a gaping hole at the inside linebacker position.

The 49ers' base defense is a 3-4. Even if Bowman's return is successful, which is not a sure thing by any means, they will still need one solid inside linebacker to play alongside him.

The 49ers have several holes to fill in this draft, in addition to inside linebacker. They lost cornerbacks Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox via free agency, and they have no proven cornerbacks on the roster that played a majority of the games last year.

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The 49ers are awaiting word on the potential retirement of Justin Smith. If he opts to retire, the defensive line, which is thin even with Smith, immediately becomes a major concern.

In addition, the 49ers need to strengthen the offensive line and improve the wide receiver position.

The 49ers have the 15th overall pick in the draft, and with inside linebacker being such a huge need, they will look here first. Unfortunately, there are no inside linebackers rated that highly to merit being selected with the 15th pick.

With poor salary cap management, a terrible draft in 2012 and a very questionable 2013 draft, general manager Trent Baalke has put the 49ers in a very weak position.

At this point, with no inside linebackers warranted to be selected 15th overall, the best move for Baalke is to trade down 10-15 spots and stockpile additional second- or third-round picks.

Make no mistake, the window of opportunity for the San Francisco 49ers has closed and it is time to rebuild the roster.

The rebuild process will be painful, but there simply is not enough talent on the current roster for the 49ers to make a Super Bowl run. In reality, it is more likely the 49ers finish last in the NFC West than first.

However, if Baalke intends to keep the 15th overall selection, there is an alternative strategy he could pursue. 

Oregon defensive tackle Arik Armstead would be a very good selection at 15. NFL Media Analyst Daniel Jeremiah had this to say about Armstead:

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Armstead has the same size and frame as Arizona Cardinals DE Calais Campbell. He primarily lines up at defensive end in the Ducks' three-man front and he will also take reps over the center. He is an outstanding run defender. He widens his base, quickly shoots his hands and anchors down. He has the quickness to close and make plays from the backside, but his effort is a little spotty. As a pass rusher, he doesn't have a quick first step, but he has very explosive hands to club blockers and generate pressure. He can lower his pads, latch on and create push with his bull rush. He is an ideal 3-4 DE at the next level.

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Even if Smith returns, Armstead is a good pick. He can learn from Smith, which will help his long-term development. Armstead is the type of player that can be a solid fixture on the San Francisco defensive line for many years. 

The next order of business is to move outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks inside. He has the size and experience to handle the job, plus the 49ers have both Aldon Smith and Aaron Lynch who can play on the outside.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reported head coach Jim Tomsula is not yet considering moving Brooks to the inside. 

Now is the time for Tomsula to not only consider the move, but to get Brooks on board with it. Brooks was losing time to Lynch anyway, and there was a distinct possibility he could have been cut due to his high salary.

However, with the departures of Willis and Borland, the 49ers can now easily afford to keep Brooks. Moving Brooks to the inside helps to bolster that position and also allows Lynch, who is one of the 49ers' most explosive defenders, the opportunity to be on the field regularly.

The linebacker corps would have Aldon Smith and Lynch on the outside, with Bowman and Brooks inside. That is a decent group, albeit with very little depth.

The 49ers can then move to bolster the cornerback spot with their second-round pick and add linebacker depth in the third round.

Time will tell if Baalke will do any of this, and given his recent track record, I am not convinced he is the man to build the 49ers roster back to an elite level.

All stats courtesy of pro-football-reference.com.