Moves San Francisco 49ers Will Regret Not Making This Offseason
The San Francisco 49ers suffer from draft dependency.
They have holes all over their roster, yet they filled almost none of them during free agency. They have to fill the rest with draft picks.
They signed cornerback Shareece Wright to a one-year deal, and that was smart. The Niners no longer have to draft a cornerback this year. They can draft one next year if they prefer. They have options.
They should have given themselves more options. The Niners should have signed as many veteran free agents to short, cheap contracts as possible. That would have allowed them to draft the best players available. Instead, they have to draft for need. Drafting for need leads to reaching for players, and reaching for players leads to teams picking busts. The 49ers put themselves in this compromised position.
The Niners could have avoided draft dependency had they signed the following five players.
Not Signing ILB Sean Weatherspoon
1 of 5
NaVorro Bowman tore his ACL and MCL last January. He may never be what he once was. If he plays next season, he might play only some of the time. The Niners should ease him back into action.
Given Bowman’s questionable health, the Niners should have signed the best free-agent inside linebacker to a one-year deal.
Weatherspoon was the best inside linebacker on the market. He’s a three-down linebacker, effective against the run and the pass. The Arizona Cardinals signed him to a one-year deal worth $3.85 million ($1.25 million guaranteed) on March 9.
After the Niners missed out on Weatherspoon, they still could have signed a dependable veteran. Not a three-down linebacker, but a two-down run-stuffer like Mason Foster. But they didn’t sign Foster. The Chicago Bears signed him to a one-year deal worth $825,000.
Instead of signing Foster, the Niners gave a one-year deal to Desmond Bishop, who has made eight tackles the past three seasons. They also gave a two-year deal to Nick Bellore, who has made three tackles on defense in his career. He’s a special teams player.
The Niners almost have to draft an inside linebacker in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft. If a team picks Stephone Anthony from Clemson University before the Niners' draft slot in Round 2, the best remaining inside linebackers will be Paul Dawson from Texas Christian University and Denzel Perryman from the University of Miami. They're decent players but not as good as Foster or Weatherspoon.
Not Signing RB Roy Helu
2 of 5
The Niners signed the wrong backup running back.
They signed Reggie Bush to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million ($1 million guaranteed). They should have given that money to Roy Helu. The Oakland Raiders signed Helu a to a two-year deal worth $4.1 million ($1 million guaranteed).
Helu is a better running back than Bush. Bush runs well only outside the tackles. Helu runs well outside the tackles and between them.
At this stage of Bush’s career, he primarily is a pass-catching specialist out of the backfield. Last season, Bush caught 40 passes for 253 yards (6.3 yards per catch). Helu caught 42 passes for 477 yards (11.4 yards per catch). Helu is a better running back and a better receiver than Bush.
Helu is 26 years old, he weighs 215 pounds and he has caught or carried the ball just 384 times in his career. He’s fresh. Bush is not. He is 30 years old. He has caught or carried the ball 1,732 times in his career. His 200-pound body has taken a pounding and is breaking down. Bush missed five games last season.
The Niners can’t count on him to stay healthy. They have to draft another running back.
Not Signing QB Tyrod Taylor
3 of 5
Taylor probably will be a starting quarterback in the NFL one day, maybe as early as next season. He is the most talented quarterback on the Buffalo Bills, more talented than Matt Cassel and EJ Manuel.
Taylor is only 25. The Baltimore Ravens drafted him 2011, and he backed up Joe Flacco the past four seasons. This offseason, the Bills signed Taylor to a three-year deal worth $3.35 million. He can earn up to $7 million if he becomes Buffalo’s starting quarterback, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com.
Taylor would have been an excellent backup quarterback for the Niners. If Colin Kaepernick gets hurt, the 49ers offense wouldn’t change with Taylor in the game. He’s athletic enough to do all the things Kaepernick does. If Kaepernick regresses, Taylor is talented enough to replace him as the starter.
The Niners didn’t show any interest in Taylor. They chose to sign Blaine Gabbert, actually giving him a two-year deal worth $4 million.
Why? Gabbert probably would be out of a job if the Niners hadn’t signed him. He doesn’t deserve an NFL paycheck. He isn’t one of the 100 best quarterbacks in the world.
The Niners need a good backup quarterback. Good quarterbacks are hard to find in this year's draft class. The Niners met with former Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson in a hotel during the week of the Senior Bowl, according to WalterFootball.com's Charlie Campbell. Grayson probably would be a sixth-round pick most years. This year, draft experts expect a team to draft him as early as Round 3. That’s how bad this year’s quarterback class is.
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Not Signing TE Daniel Fells
4 of 5
Vernon Davis has just one more year left on his contract. The Niners need another tight end. Unfortunately, the tight ends in this year’s draft might be even worse than the quarterbacks.
The Niners should have signed the best veteran tight end they could get for a one-year deal. Daniel Fells would have been a good pickup. Fells is one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. He also caught 16 passes for 188 yards and four touchdowns last season. He was the New York Giants’ No. 2 tight end, so he played just 434 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
Vernon Davis played 853 snaps last season and caught just 26 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns, and Pro Football Focus has him as one of the worst run-blocking tight ends in the NFL. Fells was better than Davis.
The New York Giants signed Fells this offseason to a one-year contract worth $950,000. The Niners easily could have outbid the Giants. Instead, the Niners skimped and re-signed tight end Garrett Celek to a one-year deal worth $585,000. Celek has made just eight catches in three NFL seasons, and he missed 13 games in 2014 with a bad back. He is a non-factor.
The Niners probably have to reach for a tight end in the draft. The last time they reached for a tight end, they took Vance McDonald in Round 2 of the 2013 draft. He has caught only 10 passes in his career.
Not Signing DE/OLB O’Brien Schofield
5 of 5
The Niners pass rush was no good last season. It finished the season with just 36 sacks, tied for 21st in the NFL.
Most good defenses have a rotation of edge-rushers, not just two. The Niners have just two—Aaron Lynch and Aldon Smith. Former third-round pick Corey Lemonier is a bust who can’t rush the quarterback. Former Pro Bowl outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks is 31 and declining. The 49ers can save $4,706,250 if they cut him after June 1, according to Niners Nation's Jason Hurley.
The Niners need a third edge-rusher to come off the bench. O’Brien Schofield would have been a good one. He came off the bench for the Seattle Seahawks the past two seasons. Last season, he had three sacks even though he played just 341 snaps.
But the Niners didn't get him. The Atlanta Falcons signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.7 million ($255,000 guaranteed). The Niners have signed zero edge-rushers this offseason. They probably have to draft an edge-rusher in a few rounds to get one as good as Schofield.
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